Health declarations and temperature checks mandatory at Chinese aviation hubs

Shanghai airport authorities have ramped up measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus pneumonia by requiring all travelers to make health declarations.

“I heard about the new policy before my flight and I expect to spend quite some time to fill up the health information form and have my temperature measured. Surprisingly, the process was much quicker than I imagined,” said Zhao Tianna, an air stewardess with China Southern Airlines.

According to Zhao, passengers and cabin crew simply need to fill up a personal health declaration form online, either via a Wechat mini program or through the mobile phone app called Jiankangyun.

“Less than a minute after I submitted the form, I received a text message on my phone telling me that I need to have my temperature taken before retrieving my luggage in Shanghai,” she said.

Zhou Junlong, vice-president of Shanghai Airport Authority, said that this latest online measure was launched on Feb 2 as it is quicker than filling up physical declaration forms.

Ral Liao, who had to fill up a physical form before the new measures were implemented, said that it took him about 20 minutes to complete the declaration and queue to submit the document.

“The bright side is that the airport staff took good protective measures, and the whole process was well organized,” said Liao.