The DGCA June 9 notification had directed all airport operators to ensure that passengers use masks at the airport or on board the aircraft. Violations were punished along with legal action. A week later, TOI found that a majority of the 40,000-odd passengers passing through Kolkata airport daily are still flouting the guidelines and refraining from wearing masks.
“Most passengers with masks in their pockets are presenting at the entrance of the terminal with tickets and ID cards. Our men are instructing them to wear masks. Those who do not have masks, they are being done.” It has been directed to Gate 3C where the pharmacy has set up a counter to sell masks. No one is allowed to enter the terminal without a mask. CISF the officer said.
Even at the boarding gates, airlines ground staff insist that they allow passengers into terminals and aerobridges for parked flights with coaches wearing masks to take them to planes parked in remote areas only after they wear masks. Can you On flights, the cabin crew monitors passengers and asks them to take them off for re-wear. The mask can be taken off only after the food has been served.
But the problem is between the terminal entrance and the boarding gate where most of the passengers are without masks. The CISF official admitted that passengers are allowed to enter the terminal only if they are wearing masks, most of them remove them and put them in their pockets as soon as they leave the gate. “People simply wear masks as a means of entering the terminal as if it were a gate pass. It appears that the Covid scare is of no concern,” the official said.
Inside the terminal, attempts to enforce the mask-up rule through display messages and fines have been met with an overwhelming number of airport officials. Even the surprise checks by the DGCA officials have failed to rein in the wrong passengers. While hundreds of passengers can be seen without masks after security checks, less than a dozen passengers have been fined in more than a week.
“How can you pull over hundreds of people? When we approach someone who isn’t wearing a mask, the ready excuse is that he took it off to wipe his face or drink water or anything else to that effect.” As long as people are concerned about their own health, it is difficult to strictly enforce the mandate,” the airport director said. c pattabhiIn the last one week only 10 persons have been added and fined.
“It is high time we as passengers should also be sensible and follow the rules,” said Sutirtha Basua frequent flier and Jadavpuri Resident.