A thermal imaging system is seen inside an airport in Santiago. Courtesy Reuters
A thermal imaging system is seen inside an airport in Santiago. Courtesy Reuters
A thermal imaging system is seen inside an airport in Santiago. Courtesy Reuters
A thermal imaging system is seen inside an airport in Santiago. Courtesy Reuters

News

People are open to stringent screening if it means they can travel again

A new survey has found travellers are willing to adhere to measures they might previously have found objectionable – simply to get back in the air

Selina Denman
Selina Denman

April 26, 2020

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Would you be willing to undergo stringent screening, tracking and testing procedures if it meant you could travel again?

If so, you are not alone.

A new survey by Global Rescue has found that travellers are more willing to accept measures they might previously have found objectionable, if it means they can get back in the air.

A passenger at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. A new survey suggests that many people expect to be travelling again by July. Courtesy EPA
A passenger at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. A new survey suggests that many people expect to be travelling again by July. Courtesy EPA

Out of the 1,300 respondents, 91 per cent said they would be willing to subject themselves to screening and testing; 73 per cent were willing to disclose medical conditions related to a compromised immune system; 93 per cent were willing to share their past 14-day travel history; and 58 per cent were willing to have their physical location tracked and traced, even if that data was temporarily retained.

Many travellers are planning to hit the road again this summer and they are willing to share personal medical history and travel plans

The survey also offered an insight into when people expected to travel again.

It showed people were relatively optimistic about a return to some form of normalcy: 41 per cent expected to make their next trip by July at the latest; 77 per cent thought they would be able to take a trip by the end of October; and 36 per cent were planning their initial trip sometime between August and October.

Less than 9 per cent of people thought their earliest post-pandemic trip would be in November or December, while less than 7 per cent expected to make their first trip between January and March 2021.

Only 7 per cent predicted their next trip would not be until sometime after April 2021.

“Many travellers are planning to hit the road again this summer and they are willing to share personal medical history and travel plans to help keep themselves and those around them safe,” says Dan Richards, chief executive of Global Rescue, a provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services.

Respondents also revealed their travel priorities in a post-Covid-19 world, and what their plans were for their first post-lockdown journeys.

Twice as many people plan to take domestic trips, over international, as their first trip.

Nearly 75 per cent of people said their initial trips would be family vacations, leisure trips to visit friends, or destination getaways. Fewer than 10 per cent expected their first trips to be for business only.

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

If you go

The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. 
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.   

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