Additional screening at Brussels airport for potential Ebola victims has so far not uncovered new cases of the disease, according to Belgium’s biggest carrier.
Checks on passengers departing airports in the western African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have been matched by inspections in Brussels, where authorities have started measuring temperatures of inbound travelers from those countries, said Brussels Airlines spokeswoman Wencke Lemmes.
The recent Ebola epidemic has infected almost 10,000 people since December, killing about half and resulting in additional security measures at the world’s airports. After cases occurred in Europe and elsewhere, U.S. authorities restricted incoming passengers to five international airports where enhanced health screenings are in place, and similar tests were introduced at London Heathrow.
Brussels Airlines, part-owned by Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the only western carrier serving all three Ebola-struck countries, has maintained its flights during the recent epidemic. Air France, the only other European carrier flying to the region, abandoned trips to Freetown in Sierra Leone in August while continuing service to Conakry in Guinea. British Airways scrapped its Freetown and Monrovia flights, and Dubai- based Emirates has stopped flying to Conakry.
Brussels Airlines customers flying in from the region must fill out passenger-locator cards, and the airline is inspecting both checked and carry-on luggage for perishables as a means of reducing biohazard risks. A specialized handling agent checks all incoming luggage for potential leaks from liquids, and any luggage showing damage gets destroyed, Lemmes said.
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