Hyderabad airport gets mass fever scanner

Naveen S Garewal 

Tribune News Service 

Hyderabad, August 2 

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) will now be able to scan hundreds of passengers for fever at the same time.

RGIA, one of the better-known airports in the country, has received a UNICEF-funded mass fever screening system that will be operational soon. 

The Central government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in coordination with the Asian Development Bank, has provided state-of-the-art thermal scanner funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

A ceiling-mounted device the mass fever screening system is capable of scanning, detecting, and tracking febrile persons with elevated skin temperature. The system automatically adjusts and adapts to the surrounding ambient temperature without any human intervention. It has a Dual-Displays (day camera + infra-red) system that identifies passengers with elevated temperatures. 

To be extremely useful in the COVID pandemic, the authorities will be able to identify passengers who are potential COVID 19 positive and will be kept under observation. There are existing thermal scanners at the international arrivals. 

An official statement said GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) that manages the airport that handled international relief flights under the government of India’s largest offshore evacuation programme of Vande Bharat Mission (VBM). All international arrival passengers and airline crew undergo mandatory health screening by the airport health officers to identify symptomatic passengers to contain the spread of Covid-19 and provide necessary medical assistance to such passengers. 

Pradeep Panicker, CEO, GHIAL, said in a statement, “We are thankful to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in having this modern equipment installed at the Hyderabad International Airport. We are grateful to the sponsors ADB and UNICEF for this humane gesture.”

“The new top-end mass fever scanner at Hyderabad International Airport enhances our efficiency multi-fold. With the help of the intuitive technology we are able to screen passengers effectively. The system alerts us if any passenger is found with high temperature, without disturbing passenger movement and throughput,” said Anuradha Medoju, Senior Regional Director, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Health and Family Welfare of the Central government.  

Airport officials statement said so far about 40,000 international arrivals passengers have been handled from May to date.