KOLKATA: Three passengers were fined Rs 100 each for not wearing masks inside the airport terminal on Thursday night and Wednesday morning as the airport operator cracked down on those not adhering to the Covid rules. The imposition of fines follows aviation regulator DGCA’s warnings and fresh guidelines in view of the rising Covid cases.
“Only those passengers wearing masks are allowed entry into the terminal. Those who do not have masks are directed to gate 3C that can be accessed by everyone to purchase a mask from the pharmacy desk, which came up there. Inside, we have deployed minders to request people who are taking off the masks to wear them. But there are some who are flouting the rules. Three persons were fined, all in the check-in area,” said airport director C Pattabhi.
The airport operator had on Thursday held a meeting with airline officials, airport staff and CISF to implement the fresh guidelines. While mask compliance at the airport has been high throughout the pandemic, people had become slack since March-April when the case count dipped. “In the past couple of months, 80% passengers were taking off the masks in the terminal. While that is allowed when they are having refreshments, masks are still mandatory in public places,” the official explained.
Sources said DGCA representatives had conducted surprise visits to the terminal on both Thursday and Friday to check compliance by not the passengers but also by the airport and airline staff as well as those of other agencies operating at the airport.
