The authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka have advised passengers not to make any travel plans if they are suffering from conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, seven days prior to the flight date.
However, physicians at the airport could allow passengers to board flights in case of emergency, if travellers have their physician’s prescription, eyedrops and appropriate sunglasses to cover their eyes, according to a notice issued by Group Captain Muhammed Kamrul Islam, executive director of the airport administration, reports bdnews24.com.
As conjunctivitis is deemed to be extremely contagious, airlines have been refusing to allow patients with an inflamed eye to board flights recently, which has been creating confusion and chaos at the airport.
The notice says in case of emergency, conjunctivitis patients first need to get an authenticated prescription from their physicians and should present it to the airport’s doctors upon arrival, along with necessary eyedrops and sunglasses to cover their eyes.
The airport physician, after reviewing the documents and checking their health situation, will issue a fitness certificate for conjunctivitis patients so that airliners can issue boarding passes for them.