21/10/2014

Gatwick Airport Begins Ebola Screening

Gatwick Airport has started screening passengers arriving from countries currently at risk of the Ebola virus.

The screening will commence at the north terminal of the airport, but will be extended at the south terminal by the end of this week.

The process sees passengers having their temperatures taken, completing a risk questionnaire and being asked to leave their contact details. Anyone who is suspected of having Ebola will be taken to hospital.

Around seven flights a day are thought to be affected by the screening procedures at the airport. While there are no direct flights to the UK from the most affected countries, people travelling from those areas have to catch a connecting flight to the UK but could arrive at airports that are not screening passengers. For those leaving the affected countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – they are also being screened before being allowed to board their flights.

Heathrow was the first British airport to begin the screening procedures last week.

The UK and the US have both introduced the screening measures in response to the threat of the disease which has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa.

(JP)

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