After the resumption of international flights in mid-June, Covid-19 was diagnosed in an average of one in 8,000 passengers at Riga Airport, said Aivis Vincevs, Head of Emergency and Communication at the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA).
He noted that the data show that air traffic is one of the safest ways to travel, even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vincevs mentioned that from the beginning of March to the end of September, a total of 391,812 passengers arrived at Riga International Airport, of which 143 were later diagnosed with Covid-19. Thus, from March to September, 12.9% of all Covid-19 cases detected in Latvia have traveled by air.
A CAA spokesman said that between mid-June and the end of September, an average of one positive incident per 8,000 passengers is imported by air. The relevant statistics deteriorated in the weeks from 7 to 13 September and from 14 to 20 September, when one case per case was detected for 1353 and 906 passengers respectively, as several cases were diagnosed on two charter flights together during these weeks. The persons flying the charter flights did not come into contact with other passengers or airport staff at the airport, but were served separately in conditions of enhanced security.
Vincevs also pointed out that in recent weeks the ratio of arriving passengers to one positive case of Covid-19 has been decreasing, which can be explained by both the total increase in morbidity and the decrease in the number of arriving passengers. For example, if in the week from 17 to 23 August more than 18,400 passengers arrived in Latvia, then in the week from 21 to 27 September – 12,700 passengers.
He also mentioned that a high proportion of Covid-19 cases were imported by air at the beginning of the year before the declaration of a state of emergency, when in the week from 2 to 8 March all three cases were by air, or one positive case per 18,000 passengers. With the entry into force of restrictions on the international carriage of passengers, the number of cases imported by air fell sharply, standing at 34.9%, 3.8% and 2.2% respectively in the last three weeks of March. At the same time, the number of imported cases remained high during this period – 44.3%, 29.4% and 11.8%, respectively – which shows that the population entered Latvia actively using other means of movement.
CAA data show that the most positive cases of Covid-19 imported by aircraft came from the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy.
Vincevs noted that the International Civil Aviation Organization’s research found only isolated cases when the disease was transmitted at the airport or aircraft. The low risk of illness is due to airflow in aircraft, high quality air filters and safety measures in the aviation sector. For example, at airports and on board aircraft must constantly wear a face mask, passengers are landed at a distance from each other. In addition, flight crew are specially trained to deal with a possible Covid-19 disorder. Aviation is also one of the more tightly controlled and supervised sectors, so imported cases can be traced by identifying all contacts quickly.
The CAA is established to implement the national aviation and aviation safety policy.
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