Preventing

the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Guideline for Airports

Tenth Edition

In order to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and act upon the requirements of the General Plan for COVID-19 Management as Category B Infectious Disease (Joint Mechanism ZF [2022] No.144) issued by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council in Response to COVID-19 Infection, with the aim of having a good command of the new situation and tasks of current pandemic response, and guiding airports to do a good job in the COVID-19 prevention and control after the release of the above General Plan, this Tenth Edition of the Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Guideline for Airports is developed, after comprehensive evaluation of the virus mutations, the new situation of COVID-19 prevention and control, and the need of recovery and development of the civil aviation industry, taking into full consideration of the previous experience and effective practices in pandemic response made by the industry.

1. Crowd Density Control

When crowd density increases, relevant measures, such as providing more guidance with passengers, increasing lanes and controlling separation among people, shall be taken so as to reduce gatherings. Passengers are encouraged to use contactless services including self-service check-in. Application of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data and automation are promoted to enhance daily monitoring of crowd density.

2. Ventilation

Practical measures shall be taken to enhance air circulation, taking into consideration the structure and layout of the terminal and local climatic conditions. If the temperature is suitable, doors and windows shall be opened to allow natural ventilation. In crowed places, in general, ventilation shall be performed at least twice a day and its ventilation capacity shall be increased when conditions allow.

3. Cleaning and

Disinfection Disinfection of key crowed public areas including check-in areas, security screening areas，restaurants and restrooms in the terminal building shall be performed carefully, with preventive disinfection at least once a day. Preventive disinfection of other public areas, such as boarding bridges, shops and booths shall be performed based on crowd density. For details, please refer to Appendix 1 “Recommendations on Preventive Disinfection Operation of Airport and Surfaces of Public Facilities”.

4. Employee Heath Protection

The front-line airport employees shall enhance awareness self-protection, and conduct continuous health monitoring. If there are such symptoms as fever, dry cough, fatigue, and sore throat, they shall report to their employers in a timely manner and shall conduct COVID-19 antigen detection or nucleic acid test. In general, employees who are tested positive shall not conduct onsite work to avoid cross-infection. If onsite work is necessary, they shall protect themselves careful and reduce contact with others. Employees in charge of checking-in, security screening and sanitation who have frequent direct contact with passengers, shall wear N95/KN95 masks, while other front-line employees wear disposable surgical mask or KN95/N95 mask. For details, please refer to Appendix 2 “Considerations regarding Mask Wearing and Hand Disinfection”.

5. Employee Mental Health Management

2. Continued effort shall be made to provide humanistic care and psychological counseling, as well as mental health services for front-line airport employees since they are exposed to the risk of infection while providing support for flight operations. For details, please refer to “5. Mental Health of Front-line Aviation Staff” of the Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Guideline for Airlines.

Appendix 1

Recommendations on Preventive Disinfection

Operation of Airport and Surfaces of Public Facilities

1.1 Air disinfection: use natural ventilation where climatic conditions allow, and chemical disinfection is not recommended.

1.2 Air conditioning ventilation system shall be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. For its metal parts, quaternary ammonium salts-containing disinfectant (1000mg/L) shall be the first choice. For its non-metal parts, peroxide disinfectants, such as chlorine dioxide (250mg/L), peracetic acid (0.1-0.2%), or hydrogen peroxide (1-3%), shall be the first choice and could be sprayed or wiped for reaction of 10 to 30 minutes.

1.3 Disinfection of facility surface: crowded places and frequently-touch surfaces (such as self-check-in or check-in counters, document verification counters, buttons in elevators, handrails and toilet handles) shall be the focuses. Chlorine-based disinfectant (250mg/L-500mg/L), chlorine dioxide (250mg/L), or double-chain quaternary ammonium salt-containing disinfectant (1000mg/L-2000mg/L) could be sprayed or wiped for disinfection, and shall be cleaned with water after 30 minutes of reaction. For the surface of perishable materials, 1000 mg/L ammonium salts-based disinfectant or alcohol-based wipes could be used for disinfection.

1.4 In a bid to prevent secondary hazards, it is not recommended to disinfect areas, such as the ground and security inspection queuing barriers unless there are suspicious pollutants. Ultraviolet rays and ozone can be used in some places instead of disinfectant for environment and facility surface sterilization when conditions allow.

Appendix 2

Considerations regarding Mask

Wearing, and Hand Cleaning and Disinfection

1. The mask shall be close to the face, covering the nose and mouth completely. When the mask is on or being removed, hands must not touch the outer layer of the mask to avoid hands contamination.

2. Facial masks must be changed at least every 4 hours (or at any time as appropriate) during work and be replaced immediately with new ones, once contaminated, out of shape, broken, smelled bad or dampened by sweat, with hands being cleaned with sanitizer both before and after the replacement.

3. Alcohol-based disinfection wipes or instant hand sanitizer shall be used for hand cleaning and disinfection. Hands shall be kept away from nose, mouth and eyes when one is not sure whether they are clean or not, and shall be cleaned with running water as the first choice where conditions allow.