The Delhi airport has set up a dedicated area at the entry point of its parking zone in Terminal 3 to ensure cabs coming there to pick up passengers are thoroughly sanitised. All the taxi operators registered with the airport like Ola, Uber, Mega and Meru have to undergo this mandatory fumigation of their cabs along with following other guidelines of the government, including wearing mask, gloves, keeping hand sanitisers for passengers in the car, etc.
“A dedicated area has been set up at the entry point of the multi-level car parking (MLCP) zone for each operator to conduct car sanitisation thoroughly from inside and outside,” Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said in a statement. Every taxi driver has to undergo mandatory thermal screening. In case of any abnormality in body temperature, the driver will be refrained from driving the vehicle and instead advised to meet health officials at the airport. The entire disinfection at the entry point will take place in three layers.
First, the disinfection of the interior of the car will be done with a specially developed fumigation machine to neutralise any virus inside the vehicle and once the spray is done, the vehicle will be left idle for two minutes for higher impact on eliminating viruses and other germs. Second, after completion of the internal disinfection process, the outer body of each vehicle will be properly sanitised through disinfecting sanitiser. Third, the special emphasis has been given to sanitise the touch points of the vehicle.
This includes the sanitisation of the vehicle’s doors, glove box, dashboard, seats, steering wheels, gear, head rests and AV vents, etc. “Passenger experience is prime to us even at this challenging time. As social distancing has become the new normal due to the pandemic, we have taken many initiatives to enhance passenger safety. To break the hesitation of passengers due to the pandemic situation, we have mandated all the taxi service providers commuting through the airport vicinity to strictly comply with Covid-19 safety measures.
These include the thorough three-layered fumigation process of the taxis ensuring sanitisation of every touch point, wearing masks and hand gloves, cashless payment, etc,” said a DIAL spokesperson. Drivers and the passengers have been asked to adhere to the government’s guidelines by wearing hand gloves and face masks while inside the cab. DIAL has earlier implemented several measures to carry intense sanitisation at the airport. It has deployed UV tunnels for disinfecting passenger bags, mobile UV tower to disinfect surfaces in the terminal area, automatic hand sanitiser dispenser, shoe sanitiser mats, etc.