The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has issued fresh guidelines to operate flight services during the coronavirus emergency with the provision of status card for the domestic passengers and crew members, and passenger locator card for the international flights reports The Rising Nepal.

According to daily, the passengers and crew members have to fill up the status card which demands the information like the COVID-19 check up and details of health problems. Anyone filling up false information and using flight service would be punished. Passengers of international flights should fill up the Passenger Locator Card and submit it to the health desk at the airport.

The ‘Guidance to airlines, airports and ground services for operations during COVID-19’ is issued with the objective of providing a source of best practices on how the airport, airline operators should conduct commercial and non-commercial flights. It aims at protecting the passengers from the COVID-19 infection at the airports and in flights.

The guidelines were issued on Wednesday as the nation was prepared to receive Nepali nationals from foreign countries, specially the Gulf countreis and Malaysia. On Friday, Nepalis from Burma and the United Arab Emirates were rescued.

Although the date of the resumption of the aviation service for the domestic flights is still unknown, the service is likely to resume from the next month as the government is mulling to relax the lockdown in the less risky areas.

The guidelines says the passengers with suggestive coronavirus symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath and loss of taste or smell would not be accepted for flight and everyone should be wearing a medical mask.

“Only those passengers will be accepted for flight if the mandatory temperature screening results in 38 degree farenheight or lower,” says the guideline.

The Rising Nepal writes that passengers should follow cough etiquette and carry adequate number of medical face masks for entire duration of travel starting from check in to baggage claim.