Table 3 Output of the IAR meeting for airports

Session 1 - Public health measures

• Difficulties to timely implement mandatory public health measures after announcement on a government level;

• The implementation of measures practically varies per airport due to their size and specific setting;

• The enforcement of behavioral regulations, such as social distancing, is difficult at airports;

• Operations of monitoring the mandatory public health measures for travelers;

• Unequivocal and clear public communication to incoming travelers.

• Involve local stakeholders timely in the drafting of measures on a national level to increase suitability and applicability to practice and involve the RIVM when needed;

• Inquire whether tailor-made implementation of measures is possible for airports other than Schiphol;

• It is strived for to include an infectious disease consultant in the 3-weekly meeting structure between the MoH and airport authorities. The RIVM is invited when deemed necessary;

• The signal of the difficulty of maintaining the behavioral regulations is shared with the respective national security authority;

• An infectious disease consultant has been included into the 3-weekly meeting;

• Signals on tailor-made implementations and the control of measures had been shared and discussed on a national level.

Session 2 – Regional, supra-regional and national collaboration

• Short communication lines, mutual trust, and an informal and pragmatic ambiance among partners in the region was considered essential and established in the majority of the regions;

• An enormous expansion of staff at the PHS and high turnover in staff complicates cooperation among partners;

• Discussion among partners from different regions as well as with the MoH and the RIVM is considered valuable;

• Centralized contact-tracing for flight contacts by the PHS for the A-port is considered efficient and should be continued;

• It is important to provide insight in the different meeting structures that exists between regions and on a national level;

• Regional partners keep investing in their regional network, now and in inter-pandemic times;

• The regional PHS and airport authorities for each airport will map out the existing cooperation structures, and identify ways to optimise it;

• A clear overview of the existing national platforms and meetings is provided by the MoH;

• At Schiphol airport, an inventory for agreements will be done to deal with stranded transit passengers.

• Regions stressed that these issues require continuous attention, but no concrete regional actions were noted;

• The MoH has provided an overview of existing national platforms;

• At Schiphol, a protocol has been developed to deal with stranded travelers;