Air cargo is given a thorough, 30-minute disinfection after landing in Macao, Chan Hou Lon, senior airport supervisor of the Airport Operations Department of the Macau International Airport Company (CAM), has said.
Chan said cargo is first disinfected on the plane, which takes about 10 minutes, then the cleaning crew leaves it in an enclosed area for 10 minutes before unloading the items onto the airport apron. Chan noted that the goods are disinfected again for another 10 minutes after being unloaded and before they are transferred to a storage area.
Chan pointed out that the storage area is divided into different zones; the disinfected goods are taken out of the quarantine area and moved to the “green zone” for storage, adding that they are then also labelled indicating that the goods had been cleaned.
Chan underlined that the cleaning crew must wear personal protection equipment, and after performing the procedures on the cargo, they undergo deep cleaning and disinfection, adding that the whole procedure follows the government’s Covid-19 prevention and control guidelines.
Taft Lam, the director of Airport Infrastructure and Air Navigation of the Macao Civil Aviation Authority said that in order to prevent the novel coronavirus being imported into Macao via air cargo, the government has imposed stricter policies. He stressed that his bureau will continue to monitor the development of Covid-19 in nearby areas and urge CAM to strictly abide by the guidelines.
The civil aviation regulator announced yesterday that in the past seven days, 17 flights arrived from international high-risk areas, carrying cargo weighing over 63,380 kilos, as well as passengers.
Nine cargo flights flew in from international high-risk areas, carrying 37,066 kilos of goods, while 14 flights carrying both passengers and cargo from low-risk areas in the mainland carried 138,858 kilos of goods, The Macau Post Daily reported.
