At present there is no medical advice or additional measures from RIVM to ban a flight on vjustify airing from the United States. RIVM does indicate that rules of conduct can be observed to limit the risk of infection with the coronavirus.
Since Thursday 19 March, there has been a curtailment of all unnecessary travel by persons from third countries to Europe (all EU Member States, all members of Schengen and the UK) with the aim of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This also applies to passengers from the United States. Air traffic has already been greatly reduced as a result of this restrictive measure.
The Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Hugo de Jonge, has informed the House of Representatives that many people are concerned about flights from New York and the rest of the United States. Reports of concerns among passengers, cabin crew and residents of Schiphol Airport appear in the media. At present, there is no medical advice from RIVM to justify a flight ban on flights from the United States. RIVM does indicate that rules of conduct can be observed to limit the risk of infection with the coronavirus.
observe home quarantine for XNUMX days
The cabinet is therefore now taking additional measures. For passengers on board those flights from the United States entering the Netherlands, we urge them to observe home quarantine for 3 days after arrival. From Friday morning, April XNUMX, letters to passengers from the United States were handed in upon arrival at Schiphol with this urgent appeal. This was the case for three flights from the cities of Detroit, New York and Atlanta. It emphasizes and explains the call for home quarantine.
Flyers are also distributed with the (behavioral) rules, medical protocols and hygiene measures that apply in the Netherlands. We have seen before that these advices are properly followed. This urgent call for home quarantine also applies to repatriation flights from countries that are currently banned from flying (namely: China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, Spain and Austria) to the Netherlands.
Furthermore, the Minister is already in talks with KLM about possible additional measures when departing from the United States. He also wants to have that conversation with other airlines that operate flights from high-risk areas. The aim is that next week, health checks on passengers will be introduced on the departure of flights that have the Netherlands as their final destination. This includes checks at check-in. These measures prevent people from boarding the plane sick as much as possible. This is a good measure of the health and well-being of airline personnel and passengers and is in line with IATA's COVID-19 guidelines.
The current flying bans for China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, Spain and Austria expire on 10 April. Before this date, the Cabinet will review this package of flight bans and additional measures.
Also read: KLM measures the temperature of passengers before departure
