Portuguese crew complain of ‘insecurity’ in repatriation flight – Portugal Resident

With so many stories concentrating on the Hantavirus outbreak, a Portuguese flight crew has now appeared among them, complaining that it was involved in a repatriation flight – and does not feel it was given sufficient information, or even protected properly.

Euroatlantic, the company operating the flight in question, “guarantees that all security procedures were complied with”.

This story, relayed by SIC Notícias, centres on a 12-person flight crew that is due to arrive home to Portugal today. 

The crew’s original flight schedule appears to have changed when the pilots and cabin staff arrived for work, ready for a flight to South America.

Instead, they were told they were flying to Tenerife, to operate a repatriation flight of five people, to Canada.

“Although the passengers only boarded the Boeing 767 after a medical assessment, the crew say they felt unsafe and apprehensive during the operation, as they had received no training or preparation for dealing with a health emergency and were equipped only with gloves and a mask,” explains SIC.

“In the complaint to which SIC had access, the crew states that, after landing, the transport that was to take them to the hotel refused to do so when it discovered the origin of the flight. The Euroatlantic aircraft proceeded to Amsterdam, where another crew was waiting to operate a flight to South America.

“The 12 crew members who took part in the repatriation operation are arriving in Portugal this Tuesday, spread across two flights, one operated by TAP and the other by KLM.

Euroatlantic says it has taken all necessary measures

When contacted by SIC, Euroatlantic stated that the five passengers repatriated “were not infected” and that the aircraft was disinfected after landing in Canada. The airline also says it has received “confirmation that no further measures would be required by the Canadian authorities”.

When asked why the crew had no advance knowledge of their change of flight plan, the Euroatlantic source stressed “there is no regulation, internal or external, stipulating the need for specific advance notice for this type of flight”.

Source: SIC Notícias