Aviation and the Ebola epidemic in West-Africa

[sn-remember]

Nigeria volunteers step in to fight EVD at the epicenter
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/nige ... ers-squad/

[sean1982]

Looking at some of the postings above, I see a load of crap again, as usual posted by people who have no clue (and not surprisingly the whole Ryanair lobby using every opportunity to bash SN).

The situation is quite simple: you can’t stop people from travelling (has anybody mentioned actually that most people are flying on Royal Air Maroc?), and international flights are needed to transport cargo and medical staff.

I see people (not surprisingly always the same moaners) mentioning SN is doing this “because SN is desperately looking for money”. A simple calculation would learn you these flights can’t be as profitable as you wrongly assume they are. You can be happy today if you carry half of the passengers to these destinations you had before. Do you really think people are paying on average double the ticket price now to compensate for the reduced traffic?

I for one applaud SN for not deserting Africa, even when it gets tough. And I applaud the crews as well, even though there’s no real danger for them as a passenger who is ill (and consequently contagious) just wouldn’t be able to board a flight.

If anyone is posting crap than that would be you. This topic has nothing to do with "an airline" but air travel in general!

[airazurxtror]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29559444

Extracts :

The UK's stance on screening has shifted rapidly.
As recently as two days ago Public Health England was saying firmly there were no plans for screening arrivals.
The argument being there was exit-screening in affected countries, the WHO said it was unnecessary and it would mean screening "huge numbers of low-risk people".
But now there will be "enhanced screening" for arrivals from affected countries.

So what has changed?
The chief medical officer argues concern over rising numbers of cases justifies the move, although it is not clear what assessment of the threat to the UK has changed since Tuesday.

Medical experts say the chances of someone boarding a flight with no symptoms and being contagious by the time they land was "highly, highly unlikely.
But speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One, chairman of the government's Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens Prof George Griffin said temperature tests were "a very ineffectual tool".
"We know the clinical course of the disease now very well, a maximum incubation period of 21 days, and fever is only part of the clinical syndrome at the end of that period.

[Passenger]

Looking at some of the postings above, I see a load of crap again, as usual posted by people who have no clue (and not surprisingly the whole Ryanair lobby using every opportunity to bash SN).

The situation is quite simple: you can’t stop people from travelling (has anybody mentioned actually that most people are flying on Royal Air Maroc?), and international flights are needed to transport cargo and medical staff.

I see people (not surprisingly always the same moaners) mentioning SN is doing this “because SN is desperately looking for money”. A simple calculation would learn you these flights can’t be as profitable as you wrongly assume they are. You can be happy today if you carry half of the passengers to these destinations you had before. Do you really think people are paying on average double the ticket price now to compensate for the reduced traffic?

I for one applaud SN for not deserting Africa, even when it gets tough. And I applaud the crews as well, even though there’s no real danger for them as a passenger who is ill (and consequently contagious) just wouldn’t be able to board a flight.

If anyone is posting crap than that would be you. This topic has nothing to do with "an airline" but air travel in general!

Crap.

If the anti-Brussels Airlines posts here would have to do something with aviation, you would accept what the World Health Organization and Medecins Sans Frontières and Unicef and IATA would say about commercial flights to/from ebola regions.

[sean1982]

While others say opposite. And off course IATA takes this point of view .... Its in their customers best commercial interest.

[lumumba]

The only thing I can say abouth this subject is that in the past when we use to live in Zaire in difficult times we where very happy that Sabena was Flying.
And there where no other doing so...
It's courageous to do so and I'm very proud to be Belgian.
People on the spot will not forget that .

[sn26567]

But now there will be "enhanced screening" for arrivals from affected countries.

And how will the UK identify people coming from infected countries, since there are no longer BA flights to such countries. OK, people with Liberian passports will be easy to identify. But Europeans having transited in BRU or CMN with two different tickets and showing their identity card rather than their passport?

[FlightMate]

Aren't SN and RAM shooting themselves in the foot?

All airlines in the world see their shares lose value because of Ebola concerns.
Thanks to ONE passenger who managed to bring the disease with him back to the states.

[Flanker2]

A majority of Americans want to ban all flights to the United States from West African countries hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak, a new NBC News survey finds.

http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-flights-ame ... 40913.html

[tolipanebas]

The only thing I can say abouth this subject is that in the past when we use to live in Zaire in difficult times we where very happy that Sabena was Flying.
And there where no other doing so...
It's courageous to do so and I'm very proud to be Belgian.
People on the spot will not forget that .

Indeed, serving Africa is something completely different from just the routine short hops in safe old Europe: it's more than just about earning a living by making good money, it opens your eyes and makes you a different person even when you are at home again.

It's why many people working for Brussels Airlines are showing a very strong social commitment to the African continent and why SN has helped bundle all their individual initiatives through the creation of a non-profit foundation which deserves to be put in the spotlight too, for once.

You can read all about the b.foundation on it's dedicated website: http://www.bfoundationforafrica.com

[sn-remember]

But now there will be "enhanced screening" for arrivals from affected countries.

And how will the UK identify people coming from infected countries, since there are no longer BA flights to such countries. OK, people with Liberian passports will be easy to identify. But Europeans having transited in BRU or CMN with two different tickets and showing their identity card rather than their passport?

It's obviously targetted at non-EU citizens.
France at cdg and Belgium at bru will need to run the equivallent "ES" to be coherent (which I fully support as previously discussed).

[Flanker2]

First probable case in France, ahead of schedule...
Blood samples sent to Lyon because it can't be analysed in Paris... . That's how well France is prepared to deal with Ebola outbreaks.

[Passenger]

First probable case in France, ahead of schedule...
Blood samples sent to Lyon because it can't be analysed in Paris... . That's how well France is prepared to deal with Ebola outbreaks.

And there is our medical expert again - this time to bash the French authorities. Maybe the French authorities have established their "ebola lab" in Lyon? Just like we have our main tropical disease centre in Antwerpen, and not in Brussels.

[Flanker2]

...and you can count on me to announce every single new confirmed case outside of the Ebola-3, until this thing is contained.

[Passenger]

...and you can count on me to announce every single new confirmed case outside of the Ebola-3, until this thing is contained.

Don't worry, I will assist you with that. You won't be able to hand it alone once ebola has crossed borders to Nigeria and Senegal.

(edited : ebola outbreak I mean, not a few isolated cases).

[sn26567]

A majority of Americans want to ban all flights to the United States from West African countries hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak, a new NBC News survey finds.

Well, it's already the case: not one single U.S. airline flies to/from a West African Ebola country...

[Homo Aeroportus]

First probable case in France, ahead of schedule...
.

And minutes later :

...and you can count on me to announce every single new confirmed case ....


So we can count on you for probable AND confirmed cases, right ?
Will you keep these separate or just mix them up and let us sort?



H.A.

[airazurxtror]

It's why many people working for Brussels Airlines are showing a very strong social commitment to the African continent

That may well be. But I can tell you that persisting in flying to the infected countries, at the risk of bringing the infection here in Belgium, does not make Brussels Airlines any more popular amongst the Belgian population. It's the very least one say.

[Flanker2]

...and you can count on me to announce every single new confirmed case outside of the Ebola-3, until this thing is contained.

Don't worry, I will assist you with that. You won't be able to hand it alone once ebola has crossed borders to Nigeria and Senegal.

(edited : ebola outbreak I mean, not a few isolated cases).

People in Senegal are safer than people in Belgium, as the borders to Ebola-3 are closed and no point to point flights are takingplace, while every flight brings 100+ potential hosts straight from the heart of the worst affected area's into BRU.
The actual risk for Senegal is that people from Ebola-3 travel on the same SN aircraft to BRU, and they can take it back home on their return flight before they show symptoms.

Nigeria has no borders with the Ebola-3 and since its last outbreak, no more flights to the Ebola-3.
So they are much safer than Belgium.

Whether you like it or not, sooner or later SN and RAM will be forced to shut down their flights.
Wait for a few cases in Belgium/France, you'll see people unroll their banners in front of the B.House and the camera's.
It won't take long for SN to get Ebola nicknames.

The EU is starting B747 relief flights and the U.S. has started sending in their own equipment.
There no longer is an excuse for a humanitarian goodwill and I don't see RAM coming up with excuses.

While SN might not seem to let down the people over there, they are bound to let people down in their home market Belgium sooner or later, as small outbreaks cause fear, unnecessary deaths and anger.

Ah well, it's their problem, see if I care.

For every confirmed case of Ebola, there are several cases who are yet to become sypmtomatic.
So the actual cases are going to mutiply themselves in the coming weeks as they become confirmed cases. Thousands of new people will get infected every day. The only country that is taking real action is the U.S. and also Japan who's offering experimental medicine and a rapid detection kit.

[cathay belgium]

HI,

Air Belgium still in quarantaine for 48 hours in the hotel AVGEEKtrip Skopje !
Still waiting for official suspension of the quarantaine,.. Skopje bad idea for avgeeks...

CXB