Paris (AFP)
Surprised by the announcement of a health pass obligation to travel, the long-distance passenger transport sector - planes, trains and coaches - hastily organized to be able to control everyone from Monday ... with "blue vests" at the SNCF.
"There is a law and we are here to apply the law. We will be ready," SNCF boss Jean-Pierre Farandou told AFP recently.
His lieutenant Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs, evokes "a real operational challenge" to put in place in four weeks - since the announcement of Emmanuel Macron on July 12 - the whole procedure allowing to control 300,000 to 400,000 travelers per day in the heart of summer.
"We will not be able to do systematic checks," he concedes.
But passengers are warned: agents will be likely to check their pass on departure, during the journey or on arrival.
SNCF is planning a big effort on information, with systematic messages to passengers, audio announcements, stands in major stations and possibly barnums of friendly pharmacies for last minute tests.
With the new trinity of TGV and Intercity travel: "a ticket, a mask, a health pass".
"We supplement the red vests (the volunteers who guide travelers, editor's note) with blue vests for the health pass," notes Mr. Fanichet.
SNCF "red vests" give information to travelers on July 25, 2021 at Montparnasse station in Paris Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP / Archives
Passes will be checked by station agents, controllers, security teams or information volunteers, possibly supported by the police.
All will have blue chasubles or armbands.
The SNCF will also experiment with checks before boarding: passengers will then have a disposable bracelet - blue - which will allow them to access the platform.
"Like in festivals."
- "Encourage vaccination" -
"The objective for us is that travelers distinguish clearly what falls under the ticket from what falls under the health pass, so that it is as serene as possible", notes the manager, preferring to remain discreet about additional costs for the public group.
Tickets will be exchanged or refunded free of charge in the event that a passenger does not have a valid pass upon boarding.
In case of control on board or on arrival without the precious sesame, he risks a fine of 135 euros.
In Rennes on January 6, 2019 Damien MEYER AFP / Archives
As for coaches, FlixBus and BlaBlaCar intend to have the sanitary pass checked by the driver when boarding, at the same time as the ticket.
"We recruited agents at the station to support the drivers in busy periods, and help them streamline controls," said a spokesperson for FlixBus.
"Although this measure is restrictive from an operational point of view, we welcome it positively because it will allow our passengers to travel even more serenely this summer", notes Nicolas Brusson, Managing Director of BlaBlaCar.
And if the health pass is not mandatory for carpooling, the platform promises "in a few weeks" a feature that will allow its users to indicate whether or not they accept to present the famous sesame at the start, "to reassure people who want to travel with them ".
The implementation of the health pass will have less impact for the aviation sector: companies were already checking documents for international flights as well as for Corsica and Overseas.
Passengers waiting to board on July 20, 2021 at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport Eric PIERMONT AFP / Archives
At Air France, we do not expect longer boarding times, especially since the company has implemented a validation process upstream of passenger health documents.
This system, called "Ready-To-Fly", used in particular towards Corsica, Overseas and Greece, has already been adopted by a quarter of passengers.
It is intended to be generalized.
"The logic of the health pass (...) is to preserve freedom of movement and encourage vaccination," said Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Thursday on Franceinfo.
The health protocol in place since May 2020 has proven its worth, he said.
"And that obviously involves respecting the wearing of a mask."
© 2021 AFP