EASA COVID-19 monitoring programme adds Munich Airport

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has added Munich International Airport (MUC) to its list of pilot airports intended to set an example of safe travel during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

These international airports – which also include Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Brussels Airport (BRU), Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) – are to demonstrate how to implement the recommendations devised by the EASA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The EASA is aiming to work toward a goal of the hygiene measures that it has recommended being put into practice as consistently as possible across Europe. These include wearing mandatory face coverings, maintaining social distancing wherever possible and providing hand sanitiser dispensers throughout the airport. Particular attention is also being paid to making the check-in and baggage drop processes as contact-free as possible.

All stages of air travel are to be taken into account, starting at the moment passengers enter the airport building, continuing through the check-in, security and customs processes and extending to the time that passengers spend on board the aircraft. Consequently, in addition to the airports, numerous European airlines are involved in the EASA’s large-scale test programme.

Munich Airport’s participation in the EASA test programme fits well with the extensive efforts by the airport to make sure that passengers and employees are safe throughout their time at the airport.

Jost Lammers, CEO of Munich Airport and President of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe, commented: “As the only five-star airport in Europe, we have a special responsibility and want to help to raise health standards at European airports in line with aviation so that passengers can get to their destinations safely and healthily, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic”.