SOPs at airports.

THE health and safety situation at airports in the country needs to improve in line with local and international guidelines.

While all major airlines coming to Pakistan screen passengers with pre-flight Covid-19 tests, they fail to ensure inflight physical distancing. The risk of virus transmission is high while boarding the plane and exiting it where passengers stand in rows without safe distancing.

A recent snapshot of a scene from travellers returning from UK/Europe at the Lahore airport exit terminal unveiled it all. Instead of adequately-distanced queues, it appeared to be a mob of people on top of each other without masks.

The airport authorities should have dedicated staff to ensure a mandatory two-metre social...