Covid 19 coronavirus: International Air New Zealand aircrew must now isolate themselves in hotels

Air New Zealand’s international crew returning home from countries where they are at high risk of contracting Covid-19 must now isolate themselves in a special hotel and taxpayers must pay the bill.

Until Monday, the crew had the option of isolating themselves at their home in New Zealand.

TVNZ has reported that each week around 80 pilots and cabin crew on high-risk flights are now taken to a hotel where a private healthcare team tests them for Covid-19.

If they test negative, they can leave after 48 hours.

“We are not going to have gate security. We are confident that airlines will follow the rules,” Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told 1 News.

Tonight, the Health Ministry told the Herald that the arrangement requires the crew to take exclusive transportation to a hotel, isolating themselves as soon as possible upon landing, before any interaction with the community.

They must also return a negative Covid-19 result before traveling home or interacting with the community.

The ministry said the hotel where the aircrew is staying, which they did not name or identify, is not a managed isolation / quarantine (MIQ) facility.

However, crews must follow isolation requirements, which includes staying in their rooms until the test result is available. Meals are delivered to their rooms during this time and they are allowed to exercise outside as long as they maintain social distancing and wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

Some wonder why it has been so quiet and say that the new measures are far from keeping us safe.

Epidemiologist Michael Baker said the new procedures for aircrew could surprise New Zealanders that this is not happening yet.

This is still a low bar to stop the virus, he said.

“Some countries would require the aircrew to always go through a 14-day quarantine process, and they would stay in a designated facility near the airport.

“I suspect that some countries would be much tougher than New Zealand and would require the crew to stay airborne in a facility for 14 days before entering the community,” Baker said.

That, he said, would be a higher barrier to protection.

1 News said they had been told that some cabin crew were suspected of breaking self-isolation at home and that Hipkins was aware of the claims.

“It’s hard to respond to anecdotes rather than real evidence that people haven’t been following the rules,” he said.

The new deal is being paid for by the government, which says Air New Zealand is an essential service and that it is essential right now to keep the national airline in the air.