Using a contactless temperature-screening system to combat the spread of COVID-19, Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) will be able to detect within seconds if a traveller is exhibiting signs of a fever.

The use of the system follows the lifting of travel restrictions under the government-imposed Level 1 lockdown regulations, which include the opening of borders and international travel to and from countries with a low COVID-19 infection and transmission rate.

According to IT Web, the thermal temperature-screening cameras developed by global thermal solutions provider Flir Systems use AI technology to detect and measure the infrared energy of passersby.

The data is converted into a digital representation of a screened person’s temperature. The system will sound an alarm if a passing person’s temperature is too high. A high fever is one of the symptoms of COVID-19.

The cameras are located at all entrances to the airport building, and passengers simply need to walk past to be screened.

Chris Bainter, vice-president of business development at FLIR, says the system allows for instant readings, making it a ‘preferred tool for front line screening’. He says Emirates Airlines has installed a similar system to screen travellers on US and UK flights departing from Dubai International Airport, a signal that such measures may represent the ‘new normal’ in air travel.

29 September 2020
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