Newsline also found that only a handful of airport staff wear masks within the premises — most remove them as soon as they leave the immigration area. In fact, save a few, most staff members remain unaware of a ‘swine flu’ epidemic.

“There is a health scare from passengers arriving here — we have been asked to be careful,” said a ‘masked’ official on duty. “It is surprising that screening for swine flu is a simple form-filling exercise at IGI,” said Gaurav Gupta, arriving from London.

A passenger is screened, or later quarantined, by airport health officials only if they had mentioned any symptoms in the declaration forms given by their airlines. “At present, we manually screen passengers on the basis of information provided by them in the health declaration forms,” the airport health officer said. “The staff screens those who have mentioned swine-flu like symptoms.”

About installation of thermal scanners, a Health Ministry official said: “IGI Airport is in the process of getting four thermal scanners. In all, 22 international airports will get such scanners.”

DIAL spokesperson Arun Arora said the airport operators are in no way involved with the health screening process.

What other airports do

BEIJING: Paramedical staff screen passengers with remote-sensing temperature recorders inside aircraft soon after a plane lands. After passengers step into airport, thermal imaging cameras again scan body heat; passengers with abnormal temperature are quarantined

DUBAI: Thermal imaging cameras screen passengers arriving from affected areas. Airlines inform passengers on board about screening at the airport

... contd.