Etihad Airways to test health assessment technology
Abu Dhabi: UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways announced that it would trial a new technology at the Abu Dhabi airport that allows to spot travellers with medical conditions, potentially including the early stages of COVID-19.
The technology, developed in cooperation with Australian company Elenium Automation, will be trialed starting late April and throughout May 2020 through volunteers and outbound passengers, Efe news quoted the airlines as saying in a statement on Monday.
The company seeks to “to gain confidence from passengers to return to travel sooner” after it suspended commercial flights in late March in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The technology will monitor the temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate of any person using an airport touchpoint such as a check-in or information kiosk etc.
The system will then alert on-site qualified staff who can further assess the travellers.
“The Elenium system will automatically suspend the self-service check-in or bag drop process if a passenger’s vital signs indicate potential symptoms of illness,” Eithad said in the statement.
“It will then divert to a teleconference or alert qualified staff on site, who can make further assessments and manage travellers as appropriate.”
“We are testing this technology because we believe it will not only help in the current COVID-19 outbreak, but also into the future, with assessing a passenger’s suitability to travel and thus minimizing disruptions,” Jorg Oppermann, Vice President Hub and Midfield Operations, Etihad Airways said in the statement.
The UAE has reported 2,076 confirmed coronavirus cases and 11 deaths.