memewest

We fly to Sydney this friday, and i'm wondering if anyone would share their experiences with going through the Thermal Scanners at Sydney and Dubai Airports??

Am travelling with the OH and an 8yr old and a 6yr old......

spalen

just got back from singapore/malaysia/sydney trip - the scanners are just before duty free and are video camera/thermal camera type things on tripods.

Unless you've got the lurgy you will just walk through and wont even slow down. They are a permanent feature at Hong Kong airport.

Dont worry about them , you wont even notice.

Pollyana

You just walk past them. A large part of their purpose is to make people aware that if they have flu sympotms they should declare them. Coming into Aus you will be given another card to fill in as well as the usual incoming pax card. You need to declare on here whether you have any flu-like symptoms, as this will ensure that if you need treatment, you will get it

Sounds scarier than it is, so don't worry

spalen

yeah right - what you will get if you stick your hand up to say " yeah Ive got flu" when on the tarmac in brisbane is...

a) beaten to near-death by the other 643 passengers

b) taken to a warehouse, along with 643 other people who hate you, for "quarantine" for a week of qantas food in hangar 53a

c) if the experience of the people who actually got diagnosed is anything to go by.... taken to a Hostipal whilst they test you for piggy flu (unlike every other country which puts you in quarantine immediately the australians like to move you to a highly populated area surrounded by people with weakened immune systems).

memewest

Thanks Guys.... I'm not panicking or anything, just wanted to know whether the things i hear about long delays etc.... are realistic. Probably not!

I also read that the Airline staff have to notify Immigration of any Minor's arriving and they also have to point out people who they think have flu-like symptoms on the flight??
Again, that's probably untrue aswell.....

Oh well...... there's nothing we can do about it, and we're coming anyway.... if we do get pulled to one side in Sydney, say one of the kids have the sniffles, and they want to test to be on the safe side, does anyone know how long all that takes??

We're only over for 2 weeks, validating.

Finger's Crossed hey??

spalen

The protocol for flu testing is to swab your mouth, and if they suspect you have it then they will either require you to go home (to hotel) and stay in quarantine int he hotel or they'll take you to a hospital. Seriously to be taken to hospital you'd have had to have been in mexico. They dont take every tom dick & harry who come off a plane feeling sick away.

You are Extremely unlikely to be pulled over unless you have been in mexico, been in close contact with smoeone from mexico etc. The questionnaire you fill in on the flight asks you if you feel ill, have you been to mexico.

Dont worry about it- there were no queues when i came through its a straight walk-through procedure down the same corridor you come down to get to customs area you wont notice.

Pollyana

The only person who has so far landed in Aus, declared that they had flu sypmtoms, and then been diagnosed as positive, went into home quarantine with family.
A number of people have declared symptoms, either on the ground or before landing, and they have been tested and given the all clear. The passengers who were sitting near the diagnosed passenger have all been contacted.
No-one n Australia has been forced into quarantine, and in no instance has an entire plane-load landng here been detained.

Other countries are operating differently, but I'm not involved with their procedures so can't give you the nfo on them.

Pollyana

No, that is true, all that happens though is the people identified are asked to go to one side at the airport, a swab is taken, and they may be given tami-flu or a similar drug and asked to go into home quarantine until the test resuts are confirmed.

memewest

Thanks for clearing that up for me!!

Will let you know how we get on!!

spalen

In the paper at weekend a couple of ladies told their tale of being taken to a hospital to be tested (and cleared). they sounded a bit daft but just retelling what was told.

They'dbeen to USA

Kooky.

Really, nothing to worry about. I flew back from the UK to Singapore during SARS with a husband so unwell and feverish I was propping him up at KL and trying to look like nothing was wrong so we got on the plane, and even he didn't get stopped at the scanners.

On a later trip I chucked up all the way from London to Singapore despite the crew ringing a doctor twice and giving me some little pills I was met at the bridge by groundcrew and a man with a wheelchair and I wasn't allowed home into Singapore until they'd run some tests on me. (It was just a bug; I knew that 'cos most of my family had gone down with it at a naming ceremony the day before.)