Istanbul, 17/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - Brussels Airlines is the only European airline to fly to countries affected by the Ebola epidemic (apart from Air France, which still flies to Conakry). Recently returned from Guinea, the head of Belgian airline Brussels Airlines, Bernard Gustin, discussed the situation with his counterparts at a summit in Istanbul organised by the European Airlines Association (AEA) on Friday 17 October and provided this newsletter with his analysis and recommendations for European leaders in their attempts to coordinate public health monitoring and protection (see EUROPE 11178) (interview by Marie-Pauline Desset).
Agence Europe: Brussels Airlines is still flying to West Africa. What safety measures have you introduced? Have sufficient measures been established by the authorities at the departure airports?
Bernard Gustin: We are still flying to Conakry, Monrovia and Freetown. At the moment, screening and taking people's temperature at departure airports is the right approach. Screening before getting on a plane is the most important process because we are dealing with a virus. Since August, between 50 and 60 people have turned up with high temperatures at the three airports and have not been allowed to board. In most cases, the high temperature was due to malaria. Zero tolerance is the approach on board because we also have the option of taking people's temperature on the plane. If there is a suspect case, staff take the person's temperature and make him or her leave (there is also an isolation kit on the plane too, along with a mask and protective clothing). Gloves and masks are provided so that staff feel at ease when handling things people have touched or being handed a ticket, for example. Training has also been introduced so that staff know more about the illness.
Europe is trying to prevent Ebola from spreading in Europe. What do you recommend?
Europe should help us calm the situation down and promote common measures for all because we are still flying over the rest of Europe. So if there is a form to be completed to travel to Malta, for example, then it should be the same form for the whole of Europe. If people's temperature is taken upon arrival at an airport, then a coordinated approach is needed for this. We should try to avoid exaggeration and not have different processes from one airport to the next. Another very important fact is that African countries are doing their best to fight the situation but cannot achieve it on their own. Here, Europe, like the United States and the United Nations, has a real role to play to solve the problem.
Are you considering the option of stopping flights to countries hit by the epidemic?
If the risk profile were to objectively deteriorate, we would not hesitate for one moment to halt flights. The top priority is the safety of our passagers and staff. If, tomorrow, someone develops symptoms at the airport, gets through the safety net and gets on board, that would mean that the system was not watertight and everything would be called into question. We also need to gauge whether supply needs to be adjusted to match demand, without abandoning the countries in question. This would require discussions with the Belgian and European authorities, because if economically it no longer makes sense to continue flying to those countries, we know that it does make sense from the humanitarian viewpoint.