King Shaka International Airport is like a ghost town when we arrive on a Thursday morning. Besides a few business travellers lugging their suitcases to the departure gates, there’s not much activity. Hand sanitisers and decal stickers bearing social distancing instructions are scattered across the airport- a sign to remind everyone to protect themselves from the spread of Covid-19.
It feels weird being in an airport without the sound of excited travellers at check-in or passengers sipping a cocktail at the airport lounge, which has since been closed. As we walk into the departure terminal, Njabulo Shazi approaches us.
Wearing a reflector jacket bearing the words “Covid-19 monitor” on it, Shazi is among the many Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) staff who will oversee compliance at the airport.
The new protocols at the airport can be daunting, but these Covid-19 monitors will gladly answer all your questions and navigate you in the right direction.
Colin Naidoo, senior manager of corporate affairs for King Shaka International Airport for ACSA, said staff were deployed as Covid-19 Monitors in all strategic areas to oversee compliance throughout the airport.
"Their focus is the passenger journey, from the time the passenger gets to the airport, their departure and when they arrive back at the airport.
"Covid-19 Monitors are meant to ensure compliance with the required regulations while providing assurance and comfort to the passenger that our facility is fully compliant and safe. They monitor compliance with physical distancing, use of PPE, sanitisation and availability of sanitisers, " he said.
Naidoo said the Covid-19 Monitors will be visible with a reflective jacket and a lollipop sign so that they can be easily identified.
"They will not only ensure that the passenger is safe while using our facility during Covid-19 regulations, but will also ensure that our stakeholders are implementing the required safety controls and measures at all times, " he said.