Travelers arriving at Perth Airport from Bali were forced to wipe their shoes on disinfectant mats on Monday as the threat of foot-and-mouth disease looms over Australia’s livestock industry.
Perth passengers arriving from Denpasar were some of the first to have their shoes cleaned inside a biosecurity response area after disembarking.
The mats were delivered last Friday and were put into operation on Monday.
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Tom Casey, 19, told PerthNow the disinfection process was simple.
Camera icon Tom Casey, 19, told PerthNow the decontamination process was simple. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian
“The staff just told all the passengers that we would have to walk on these black carpets. It was quite cold,” he said.
“The disease is quite damaging to agriculture in Australia, it looks quite serious, so we don’t want to deal with it.”
Passengers were briefed on the aircraft about the FMD outbreak before being advised that biosecurity officers would have passengers use mats to clean their shoes.
Robyne and Adrian Frances said it was “necessary to do something”.
Camera IconRobyne and Adrian Frances said it was “necessary to do something”. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian
Another couple who had been in Bali for two weeks said there was no distress or panic among fellow travelers.
“It’s no drama, it’s just good to see they’re doing something,” said John and Sam Mckay.
Camera icon John and Sam McKay had no problems with the mats. Credit: Kelsey Reid/The West Australian
Meanwhile, Daniel Delborrello has praised the “free shoe cleaning service”.
“I just hope they don’t close the borders,” he said.
Three flights from the holiday hotspot, operated by Jetstar, are scheduled to land on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the federal agriculture department said on Saturday it was the first time that foot mats would be deployed in passenger terminals at international airports in Australia and trials were currently being carried out.
Henry Annandale, director of Murdoch University’s school of veterinary medicine, said it would be ideal to have the mats in place earlier, including for arrivals from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, India and South Africa, where there are also outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease.
Research has found that, under certain conditions, the virus can remain infectious for 11 weeks in leather boots and 13 weeks in rubber boots.