Durban’s King Shaka International Airport (King Shaka) on Friday announced that it was updating its operations processes concerning Covid-19. The new processes would come into effect on Sunday (August 16). King Shaka is one of the airports owned and operated by the Airports Company South Africa.

“Our operations team conducted a study on the current operating processes that were implemented under lockdown level 3 operations,” reported King Shaka GM Terence Delomoney. “These processes enable us to comply with the new regulations and are endorsed by the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The review has identified areas for improvement throughout the passenger journey, and is part of an ongoing assessment that enables continuous improvement.”

The airport still urged passengers to arrive at the terminal two hours before their flights. The long-term and shaded parking would remain closed. All parking was restricted to Level 0 of the multistorey parkade. The main entrance to the terminal would actually be used only as an exit. 

Entrance to the terminal would be by a secondary set of doors. This entrance would be set up to aid passengers who have to complete the travel health questionnaires and there would be a ‘queuing maze’ to enable an efficient passenger flow. Security personnel would be in charge of the access control and would stamp boarding passes, so as to help passengers who wanted to leave the terminal after being processed. Those passengers with electronic boarding passes would be given a sticker.

Regarding the passenger drop-off facility, this was on the elevated road at the terminal. The doors for both Drop Off 2 and Drop Off 3 would be available for entry into the terminal. The doors at Drop Off 4 would serve as an exit from the terminal. Again, security would control the access and stamp the boarding passes of passengers who wanted to leave the building after being processed, and issue stickers to those with electronic boarding passes.

The airport emphasised that everyone must wear personal protective equipment when at the facility. Only travelling passengers would be allowed. All safety and security precautions would be maintained, including the provision of sanitisers, physical distancing, perspex screens and self-check-in, and there would be police roadblocks. It also pointed out that these processes would be periodically reviewed and adjusted as required.