As the Spring Festival holiday is coming to an end, a large number of people are taking flights to return to their working places. As required by epidemic prevention and control, passengers should cooperate with airports and airlines in the implementation of requirements on aviation safety while strengthening personal protection. CAAC has requirements in place regarding the protective articles that can be carried by passengers. The following should be paid attention to:

1. Can all personal preventive articles be carried?

Department of Transport of CAAC: There are many kinds of personal protective articles, mainly including face masks, goggles, protective clothes, disinfectant, etc. Some passengers may also carry thermometers and medicines. There is no restriction on medical masks, N95 masks, goggles, general protective clothes which do not cause potential safety hazards.

2. Can disinfectant be carried on board?

Department of Transport of CAAC: There are various kinds of disinfectant, so we cannot simply say it can be or cannot be carried. Instead, we need to explain on a kind-by-kind basis.

1) Alcohol-containing disinfectant

Presently, most kinds of hand sanitizers contain high-concentration alcohol (anhydrous ethanol), with the concentration being 60%-80%.

Disinfectant containing more than 70% alcohol by volume is not permitted in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

Disinfectant containing 70% or less than 70% alcohol by volume cannot be carried on the person, but can be carried in hold baggage. When carried in hold baggage, such disinfectant should be placed in retail packages, and each bottle should not exceed 500 mL. Passengers are allowed to carry a reasonable quantity of such disinfectant enough for personal use in hold baggage.

Some products on the market are labeled non-alcoholic, but may contain isopropyl alcohol, which is on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

2) Hydrogen peroxide disinfectant

Also called perhydrol disinfectant, this product available on the market has a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 3.5% - 25%. It is on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

3) Peracetic acid disinfectant

This product available on the market has a peracetic acid concentration of 15% - 20%. It is on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

4) 84 disinfectant

It is a highly effective disinfectant mainly made of sodium hypochlorite. This product available on the market has an effective chlorine content of 4.0-6.5%. It is on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

5) Chlorine-containing disinfectant tablets, disinfectant effervescent tablets

According to their components, they can be divided into trichloroisocyanuric acid, dichloroisocyanuric acid, sodium trichloroisocyanuric acid, dichloroisocyanuric acid or mixture, chlorine dioxide, etc. The products available on the market are all solid and similar to tablets, but they are all on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

6) Bleaching powder

This is a mixture of calcium hydroxide, calcium chloride and calcium hypochlorite, whose main component is calcium hypochlorite, with an effective chlorine content of 30% - 38%. It is on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

7) Potassium permanganate disinfection tablets

With the content of potassium permanganate being 85% - 95%, this product is on the list of dangerous goods forbidden to be transported by air and cannot be carried in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.

3. Can disinfectant outside the scope of the dangerous goods mentioned above be carried on board?

Department of Transport of CAAC: It is not necessarily so, and it depends on the specific components of the disinfectant. Disinfectant without flammable, explosive, toxic or corrosive substances can be carried on board. Disinfectant with one of such substances is not permitted. The purpose is to ensure maximum safety for all passengers.

4. People have been paying special attention to their health since the outbreak of the coronavirus, and some regularly use thermometers to take their temperatures, so what are the requirements for carrying a thermometer when taking a flight?

Department of Transport of CAAC: Different requirements exist for different types of thermometers. Mercury thermometers cannot be carried in cabin baggage or on the person. They can only be carried in hold baggage, and must be placed in a protective box.

If you want to travel with a thermometer, an electronic thermometer is recommended. However, if the electronic thermometer contains a lithium battery, the rated energy of the lithium battery shall not exceed 100 Wh or its weight shall not exceed 2 g, and measures should be taken to prevent short circuits.

But the present situation is that the temperature is taken as soon as a passenger enters the airport. So, it is no longer necessary to carry a thermometer. In addition, passengers with fever are not advised to continue to travel by public vehicles.

5. For safety reasons, it is not very convenient to have meals when travelling. So is it all right to take some self-heating foods when taking a flight?

Department of Transport of CAAC: Now there are many kinds of self-heating foods which are popular on the network, including convenient hot pot, convenient rice, self-heating beverage, etc. The heating bags or self-heating bags in such self-heating foods usually contain magnesium powder and iron powder that will release flammable gas when encountering water, spontaneously flammable solid carbon or corrosive calcium oxide, and are thus prohibited to be carried by passengers. If the passenger throws away the heating bag or the self-heating bag, the rest of the food can be carried, but if the heating bag/self-heating bag is packed together with the food itself, the passenger cannot carry the food in hold baggage, cabin baggage or on the person.