The UK is the hardest hit territory by the swine flu epidemics, which has made it clear to two of the biggest airlines that steps must be taken to prevent people with the virus from traveling to other parts of the world, or for those to enter the country. Thus, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have announced that measures are in place to block swine flu travelers straight at the airport, on the spot, as physorg can confirm.

The idea is to let no one with symptoms go out or in the country if a thorough check at the airport can prevent it. Thus, staff will detain anyone who looks suspicious – in the sense of presenting the by-now well-known symptoms – and will call for the standby medical team when the person in question asks for it. If the person chooses to ignore the recommendations of the medical staff, he or she will have to provide a 'fit to fly' paper from their doctor in order to book a place on the plane, which will be paid for by the company, it has been revealed.

“If we have concerns about a customer or the customer is concerned, then we have a 24-hour medical service we can call to give advice to staff. There have been a number of cases where we have advised customers not to fly on the basis of their diagnosis or symptoms of H1N1.” a spokesperson for British Airways tells the aforementioned medical publication about the steps taken to ensure the virus doesn’t spread any further.

“If there are signs of something being wrong, be it excessive sneezing or coughing, not looking well, high temperature, then the airport staff can call in a medical team for extra advice. If the medical team believe there are reasons not to fly, the passenger will be asked to produce a fit to fly certificate from their doctor or a hospital, and they will be put at our cost on to the next available flight.” Paul Charles, spokesman for Virgin Atlantic, explains for the same publication.

Nearly 55,000 new cases of swine flu were estimated last week, so the situation calls for this type of emergency measures, it is being said. Moreover, fliers should pay heed to the warning repeatedly issued by authorities, recommending them to postpone all journeys if they are feeling ill and see a doctor instead.