Youthful Travels

s l e v a r T l u f h t You 20

June 20

Thinking About Flying? Here’s What You Need to Know - Pg.3

Thinking About

Flying?

Here’s What You Need to Know

By Tariro Mzezewa

Airplane travel is inching back, but staying safe remains a concern. Here’s how to think about approaching a trip.

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June 2020

youthful Travels

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On Friday,

the Transportation Security Administration screened 348,673 people at American airports, the most since travel went into a free-fall in mid-March, likely driven by people traveling ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Still, a year ago, more than 2.7 million people were screened, showing just how far the industry has to come back.

Here’s what we know about navigating air travel safely now.

What’s the best way to get to the airport?

If someone you have been isolating with can drop you in their own car, that raises the least possible risk. If you need to take a car service like Uber or Lyft, you should remember that those companies are not allowing ride shares (so you can expect to pay more for your ride) and it’s courteous to drivers and passengers who come after you to wipe down the seat and door handle before exiting the car. Uber and Lyft are requiring that all passengers and drivers wear masks.

The companies said they are also providing cleaning supplies to as many drivers as possible Before going to the airport, how should I prepare?

Flying has always been a high-touch exercise so think about all those points and how you can minimize them. Wrapping yourself head to toe in plastic wrap is not really

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June 2020

necessary, but you should carry — and use — a mask, wipes and hand sanitizer. Some experts suggest wearing gloves, though the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance suggests they are not necessary.

Most airlines suggest that travelers download their app for touchless boarding, which will minimize the number of times you have to hand over documents or touch screens.

Think about whether you want to check a bag or if you can make the trip with a carry-on (experts don’t necessarily think one is better than the other). Some airlines have shut down self-service kiosks and others, like United, have begun rolling out touchless kiosks that allow customers to print bag tags using their own devices to scan a QR code.

What should I expect at the airport?

Lots of cleaning. Airports have been cleaning everything from the floors and surfaces to the air more rigorously. Long Island MacArthur Airport, for example, is using something called Continuous Air and Surface Pathogen Reduction, a system that continuously sanitizes air and surfaces. CASPR attacks pathogens by converting oxygen

and moisture into hydrogen peroxide and releasing that into the air.

Pittsburgh International recently became the first American airport to use robots with UV-C rays to clean and disinfect the floors in hightraffic areas.

to the floor markers indicating the proper social distancing. Even though crowds have been thin, maintaining social distancing may be difficult, so wear your mask.

Expect T.S.A. agents to be wearing them as well.

Other airports have increased hand sanitizer stations throughout the airport as well as the regularity with which they are cleaning; in some cases it’s hourly. Many are also requiring all passengers to wear masks.

T.S.A. has tweaked its security procedures to reduce how much travelers have to handle security bins and to keep agents from touching travelers’ belongings. At the podium, you no longer have to hand your boarding pass to a T.S.A. agent.

Instead, you will place your electronic or paper boarding pass on the boarding pass reader yourself. After scanning, you should hold your boarding pass up for an agent to inspect it.

JetBlue said last week that it has increased the frequency with which it is cleaning surfaces in its airport terminals with a hospital-grade disinfectant. United also said last week that it is working with Cleveland Clinic experts and Clorox to ensure it is using the best cleaning practices.

Many airport shops may be closed, and not all airlines are serving food on flights, so you may want to bring your own food for the plane. Most airports are discouraging the use of cash. You may want to make sure you have a tap-to-pay card or have set up contactless payments like Apple Pay on your phone.

How can I be safe during check in and security?

That’s where your at-home prep comes in. Do as much of the process on your airline’s app as you can.

Bring hand sanitizer in case you need to hand over documents or your phone, or if you need to key anything in at a kiosk. Pay attention

If you have food, don’t put it into your carry on. Put it into a clear plastic bag and then put that bag into a bin. “Separating the food from the carry-on bag lessens the likelihood that a T.S.A. officer will need to open the carry-on bag and remove the food items for a closer inspection,” a T.S.A. announcement on Thursday said. T.S.A. Precheck members do not need to remove items from their bags.

To reduce the number of things that go into the reusable plastic bins, put items, including belts, wallets, keys and phones, into your carry-on bags, rather than into a bin.

If you need to be patted down, T.S.A. officers will change gloves after each pat down.

How can I make it through the boarding scrum?

Ask your airline what its current procedure for boarding is.

Southwest, for example, has been having people board in groups of 10, with people only lining up on one side of its boarding poles. United is boarding people by row, with people sitting in the back of the plane boarding after preboarding groups.

JetBlue is also implementing backto-front boarding. Most airlines are boarding fewer people at a time to keep crowds from forming at the gate, on the jet bridge and as people get on the plane. Airlines are also asking people to scan their own boarding passes.

Policies differ by airline, but most airlines are asking passengers to wear masks to board and on flights.

Do I need to wipe down my seat?

Doing a full Naomi Campbell is not necessarily a bad idea, but airlines say they have stepped up the deep cleaning of planes, sometimes between every flight. Delta is using an “electrostatic sprayer,” which releases a mist of disinfectant.

American Airlines planes are tidied throughout the day and cleaned for more than six hours every night.

Alaska Airlines increased its cleaning procedures between flights. Most airlines have created a Covid-19 page with information about what they are doing to keep passengers safe. This page, in many cases, has detailed information about what kind of cleaning protocols an airline is following.

Do I need to keep my mask on?

Yes, most airlines are asking people to keep them on for the duration of their flight. You should know that the air on the plane is pretty clean: Commercial planes recycle cabin air using High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, so the air might not be fresh, but it is scrubbed.

HEPA filters catch 99 percent of airborne microbes, according to the International Air Transportation Association, an industry group.

Masks can be taken off to eat and drink (on airlines that are serving meals). You can bring your own food onto the plane, though Southwest is asking people to eat before traveling. United recently introduced an “all in one” economy snack bag that includes a sanitizer wipe, an 8.5 oz. bottled water, a Stroopwafel and a package of pretzels. It is being passed out during the flight.

Will someone be in the seat next to me?

They might be. Pictures of flights in which every seat seems full have been making the rounds on social media. They are not the norm. On average, flights are carrying about 39 passengers, down from the first two months of the year, when flights were carrying about 85 to 100 passengers.

Airlines for America, an industry lobbying group, says that most flights — about 73 percent — are less than 50 percent full.

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ather than dreaming up -a trip to San Francisco or NYC, where crowds are guaranteed, why not find somewhere you can hike for miles without seeing a soul or stargaze in the open air.

You may have never heard of these US locations (and that’s a good thing), but they’ll provide plenty of future travel inspo for when it’s safe to get back out there.

R

1. Hood River, Oregon This walkable town sits right on the Oregon-Washington border and seems to have it all — outdoor art installations, a handful of breweries and cideries, and direct access to the Hood River and Columbia River confluence, where you’ll find wind and kite surfers sailing across the water. If mountains are more your thing, there’s easy access to Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, and a myriad of hiking and mountain biking trails.

It may be some time before you’re hopping on a flight or planning a cross-country vacation, but short road trips or day excursions might not be as far off.

By Evie Carrick

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June 2020

2. Black Mesa State Park, OK It doesn’t get more isolated than this state park on the Oklahoma panhandle. You can hike to the top of the plateau (the state’s highest point), go birding, or set up camp where you can view the stars — the park boasts super-dark nighttime skies.

3. 100 Mile Wilderness, Maine If you really want to get away from it all, one segment of the Appalachian Trail in Maine is known for being particularly remote. Known as the 100 Mile Wilderness, this stretch draws serious backpackers craving a multi-night stay in nature.

4. Portal, Arizona If a little bird-watching and a little stargazing sound like the perfect getaway, this ultra-remote town in Arizona will feel like paradise. Portal sits near the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon and the Chiricahua Mountains, and boasts a Yosemite-like landscape. Half of the bird species in North America can be seen here, and the skies are so dark (and free from light pollution) that a community of dedicated stargazers established a development just outside Portal.

5. Apostle Islands, WI Way up north, on Lake Superior, sit the Apostle Islands. Visitors can rent a kayak and cruise along the stunning coastline, or venture out to Sand or Raspberry Island for an afternoon picnic.

6. Boundary Waters, MN It doesn’t get more remote than this 1 millionacre wilderness area in northeastern Minnesota.

Boaters can explore the seemingly endless waters that traverse glacial lakes and primitive landscapes.

7. The Berkshires, MA This rural area in the mountains of Western Massachusetts has more than 11,000 acres of open space waiting to be explored.

Adventurous travelers can climb Mount Greylock — the highest point in the state — or hike part of the Appalachian Trail.

8. Grand Teton Nat’l Parl, WY It doesn’t get more remote than Wyoming, the least populated state in the US. And while the nearby Yellowstone National Park gets all the attention, Grand Teton National Park is home to the impressive Teton mountain range, tons of hiking trails, and its own share of wildlife — including bears, bison, and moose.

9. Red Lodge, Montana For a taste of the Wild West, dust off your boots and head to Red Lodge, a historic mining town with a rugged, Western charm. Hiking and biking trails sprawl to the west, but the big draw is the iconic Beartooth Highway, which leads to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

10. Santa Ynez Valley, CA This picturesque, agricultural valley is just over two hours from Los Angeles but feels like a world away. The tiny town of Solvang boasts Danishstyle architecture, while Los Olivos offers a one-stop wine country experience without the Napa Valley crowds.

11. Salida, Colorado Just a few hours south of Denver, this small mountain town has river access — think rafting and kayaking — and sits at the base of several 14,000-foot mountains waiting to be climbed.

12. Petoskey, Michigan This coastal town is found up north in the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.

Boating and swimming

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are musts, but so is a stroll through the downtown Gaslight District and the Bear River Valley Recreation Area that runs through town.

13. Gila Nat’l Monument, NM The caves of Gila have housed nomadic people for thousands of years. Today, visitors can explore preserved cave dwellings, while camping and natural hot springs can be found nearby at Gila Hot Spring Campground.

14. Siloam Springs, AK Located on the ArkansasOklahoma state line, Siloam Springs merges the cosmopolitan and the natural with its hip, historic downtown built around the scenic Sager Creek. For a calming stroll through the lush Arkansas fauna, head to the Dogwood Springs Trail.

15. ACE Basin, South Carolina The Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Basin (ACE Basin) is a giant wetland ecosystem located on the Atlantic coast of South Carolina. There are beachside campsites at Edisto Beach State Park, and the Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge offers a chance to see bald eagles, white-tailed deer, and American alligators.

16. Marfa, Texas It doesn’t get much more photogenic than Marfa, a small town in west Texas that’s become an art hub. Outdoor installations, stargazing, and the “Marfa lights” — mysterious glowing orbs spotted in the night sky — are must-sees.

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June 2020

17. McCall, ID McCall is a perfect mix of lake life and mountain adventure.

Located on shore of Payette Lake, you can spend the morning fly-fishing in the stillness before exploring the trails of Ponderosa State Park.

18. San Juan Islands, WA It’s easy to find your own secluded spot on this archipelago in northwestern Washington near Victoria, Canada. Famous for the orca whales that inhabit the waters year-round, San Juan Island’s Lime Kiln Point State Park has giant creatures you can watch for. Or you can take a dip in one of the five freshwater lakes in Orcas Island’s Moran State Park.

19. Roan Mtn State Park, TN This park sits near the border of Tennessee and North Carolina in the dense southern Appalachian forest.

Here, you’ll find the park’s namesake Roan Mountain and legendary trout fishing.

If you’re up for an overnight backpacking trip, make your way from Carver’s Gap to US 19E along the scenic Appalachian Trail (this section is just under 17 miles).

20. Park City, Utah Park City is famous for its skiing, but during the summer, the town blossoms into an outdoors-lover’s paradise — there’s mountain biking, endless hiking, and a charming downtown. Its proximity to Salt Lake City makes it easy to get to, while the surrounding mountains provide a reprieve from city life.

21. Wolfeboro, NH Wolfeboro’s motto may be “the Oldest Summer Resort in America,” but you’ll still find plenty of peace and quiet in this small town on Lake Winnipesaukee. Walk the scenic Cotton Valley Rail-Trail, which starts in town and runs along the shores of Back Bay, or get out on the water on a kayak or canoe.

22. Manchester, Vermont This historic, overwhelmingly cute town doesn’t lack mountain views, which only get better in the autumn when the fall colors pop. You can get up high (and enjoy the views) by climbing Mount Equinox or pack a picnic.

23. Honey Island Swamp, LA It’s easy to feel like you’re in another world while kayaking through a swamp or bayou.

The Honey Island Swap in Louisiana has everything you’d expect — tupelo trees growing like the Honey Island Swamp Monster, a giant mythical creature that is said to resemble both a chimpanzee and an alligator.

R

ather than dreaming up -a trip to San Francisco or NYC, where crowds are guaranteed, why not find somewhere you can hike for miles without seeing a soul or stargaze in the open air. You may have never heard of these US locations (and that’s a good thing), but they’ll provide plenty of future travel inspo for when it’s safe to get back out there.

1. Hood River, Oregon This walkable town sits right on the OregonWashington border and seems to have it all — outdoor art installations, a handful of breweries and cideries, and direct access to the Hood River and Columbia River confluence, where you’ll find wind and kite surfers sailing across the water. If mountains are more your thing, there’s easy access to Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, and a myriad of hiking and mountain biking trails.

2. Black Mesa State Park, OK It doesn’t get more isolated than this state park on the Oklahoma panhandle. You can hike to the top of the plateau (the state’s highest point), go birding, or set up camp where you can view the stars — the park boasts super-dark nighttime skies.

3. 100 Mile Wilderness, Maine If you really want to get away from it all, one segment of the Appalachian Trail in Maine is known for being particularly remote. Known as the 100 Mile Wilderness, this stretch draws

23 Off-the-Beaten-Path Destinations That Are As Beautiful As They Are Remote

By Evie Carrick

Youthful Travels

9

serious backpackers craving a multi-night stay in nature.

4. Portal, Arizona If a little bird-watching and a little stargazing sound like the perfect getaway, this ultraremote town in Arizona will feel like paradise.

Portal sits near the entrance to Cave Creek Canyon and the Chiricahua Mountains, and boasts a Yosemite-like landscape. Half of the bird species in North America can be seen here, and the skies are so dark (and free from light pollution) that a community of dedicated stargazers established a development just outside Portal.

5. Apostle Islands, WI Way up north, on Lake Superior, sit the Apostle Islands. Visitors can rent a kayak and cruise along the stunning coastline, or venture out to Sand or Raspberry Island for an afternoon picnic.

6. Boundary Waters, MN It doesn’t get more remote than this 1 million-acre wilderness area in northeastern Minnesota. Boaters can explore the seemingly endless waters that traverse glacial lakes and primitive landscapes.

7. The Berkshires, MA This rural area in the mountains of Western Massachusetts has more than 11,000 acres of open space waiting to be explored.

Adventurous travelers can climb Mount Greylock — the highest point in the state — or hike part of the Appalachian Trail.

8. Grand Teton Nat’l Parl, WY It doesn’t get more remote than Wyoming, the least populated state in the US. And while the nearby Yellowstone National Park gets all the attention, Grand Teton National Park is home to the impressive Teton mountain range, tons of hiking trails, and its own share of wildlife — including bears, bison, and moose.

9. Red Lodge, Montana For a taste of the Wild West, dust off your boots and head to Red Lodge, a historic mining town with a rugged, Western charm.

Hiking and biking trails sprawl to the west, but

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June 2020

the big draw is the iconic Beartooth Highway, which leads to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

10. Santa Ynez Valley, CA This picturesque, agricultural valley is just over two hours from Los Angeles but feels like a world away. The tiny town of Solvang boasts Danish-style architecture, while Los Olivos offers a one-stop wine country experience without the Napa Valley crowds.

11. Salida, Colorado Just a few hours south of Denver, this small mountain town has river access — think rafting and kayaking — and sits at the base of several 14,000-foot mountains waiting to be climbed.

12. Petoskey, Michigan This coastal town is found up north in the Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. Boating and swimming are musts, but so is a stroll through the downtown Gaslight District and the Bear River Valley Recreation Area that runs through town.

13. Gila Nat’l Monument, NM The caves of Gila have housed nomadic people for thousands of years. Today, visitors can explore preserved cave dwellings, while camping and natural hot springs can be found nearby at Gila Hot Spring Campground.

14. Siloam Springs, AK Located on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line, Siloam Springs merges the cosmopolitan and the natural with its hip, historic downtown built around the scenic Sager Creek. For a calming stroll through the lush Arkansas fauna, head to the Dogwood Springs Trail.

15. ACE Basin, South Carolina The Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Basin (ACE Basin) is a giant wetland ecosystem located on the Atlantic coast of South Carolina. There are beachside campsites at Edisto Beach State Park, and the Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge offers a chance to see bald eagles, whitetailed deer, and American alligators.

16. Marfa, Texas It doesn’t get much more photogenic than Marfa, a small town in west Texas that’s become an art hub. Outdoor installations, stargazing, and the “Marfa lights” — mysterious glowing orbs spotted in the night sky — are must-sees.

17. McCall, ID McCall is a perfect mix of lake life and mountain adventure. Located on shore of Payette Lake, you can spend the morning fly-fishing in the stillness before exploring the trails of Ponderosa State Park.

18. San Juan Islands, WA It’s easy to find your own secluded spot on this archipelago in northwestern Washington near Victoria, Canada. Famous for the orca whales that inhabit the waters year-round, San Juan Island’s Lime Kiln Point State Park has giant creatures you can watch for. Or you can take a dip in one of the five freshwater lakes in Orcas Island’s Moran State Park.

and runs along the shores of Back Bay, or get out on the water on a kayak or canoe.

22. Manchester, Vermont This historic, overwhelmingly cute town doesn’t lack mountain views, which only get better in the autumn when the fall colors pop.

You can get up high (and enjoy the views) by climbing Mount Equinox or pack a picnic.

23. Honey Island Swamp, LA It’s easy to feel like you’re in another world while kayaking through a swamp or bayou.

The Honey Island Swap in Louisiana has everything you’d expect — tupelo trees growing like the Honey Island Swamp Monster, a giant mythical creature that is said to resemble both a chimpanzee and an alligator.

19. Roan Mtn State Park, TN This park sits near the border of Tennessee and North Carolina in the dense southern Appalachian forest. Here, you’ll find the park’s namesake Roan Mountain and legendary trout fishing. If you’re up for an overnight backpacking trip, make your way from Carver’s Gap to US 19E along the scenic Appalachian Trail (this section is just under 17 miles).

20. Park City, Utah Park City is famous for its skiing, but during the summer, the town blossoms into an outdoors-lover’s paradise — there’s mountain biking, endless hiking, and a charming downtown. Its proximity to Salt Lake City makes it easy to get to, while the surrounding mountains provide a reprieve from city life.

21. Wolfeboro, NH Wolfeboro’s motto may be “the Oldest Summer Resort in America,” but you’ll still find plenty of peace and quiet in this small town on Lake Winnipesaukee. Walk the scenic Cotton Valley Rail-Trail, which starts in town Youthful Travels

11

Thinking Ab out Flying?

Here’s What You Need to Know

By Tariro Mzezewa

Airplane travel is inching back, but staying safe remains a concern. Here’s how to think about approaching a trip.

them. Wrapping yourself head to toe in plastic wrap is not really necessary, but you should carry — and use — a mask, wipes and hand sanitizer. Some experts suggest wearing gloves, though the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance suggests they are not necessary.

Most airlines suggest that travelers download their app for touchless boarding, which will minimize the number of times you have to hand over documents or touch screens. Think about whether you want to check a bag or if you can make the trip with a carryon (experts don’t necessarily think one is better than the other). Some airlines have shut down self-service kiosks and others, like United, have begun rolling out touchless kiosks that allow customers to print bag tags using their own devices to scan a QR code.

What should I expect at the airport?

On Friday,

the Transportation Security Administration screened 348,673 people at American airports, the most since travel went into a free-fall in mid-March, likely driven by people traveling ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

Still, a year ago, more than 2.7 million people were screened, showing just how far the industry has to come back.

For people who are thinking of flying this summer, or in the months after, air travel will be a far different experience than it was before the coronavirus. The days of casually hopping in a cab or Uber to the airport, then jostling for space in the overhead, are over, at least for the moment. From the curb to the plane, each portion of the journey has new rules and new things to think about.

What’s the best way to get to the airport?

If someone you have been isolating with can drop you in their own car, that raises the least possible risk. If you need to take a car service like Uber or Lyft, you should remember that those companies are not allowing ride shares (so you can expect to pay

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June 2020

more for your ride) and it’s courteous to drivers and passengers who come after you to wipe down the seat and door handle before exiting the car. Uber and Lyft are requiring that all passengers and drivers wear masks. The companies said they are also providing cleaning supplies to as many drivers as possible.

Many airports around the country have changed their drop-off, pickup and parking procedures to encourage people to keep moving. Make sure you know what your airport’s current policies on drop-off and parking are. Most airports have created pages with Covid-19 updates. Many airports have closed their long-term parking lots, but are keeping daily and hourly garages open.

Most airports have adjusted their rules to allow only ticketed passengers and people helping them check in to enter terminals, so take that into account when planning who will accompany you.

Before going to the airport, how should I prepare?

Flying has always been a high-touch exercise so think about all those points and how you can minimize

Lots of cleaning. Airports have been cleaning everything from the floors and surfaces to the air more rigorously. Long Island MacArthur Airport, for example, is using something called Continuous Air and Surface Pathogen Reduction, a system that continuously sanitizes air and surfaces. CASPR attacks pathogens by converting oxygen and moisture into hydrogen peroxide and releasing that into the air. Pittsburgh International recently became the first American airport to use robots with UV-C rays to clean and disinfect the floors in high-traffic areas.

Other airports have increased hand sanitizer stations throughout the airport as well as the regularity with which they are cleaning; in some cases it’s hourly.

Many are also requiring all passengers to wear masks.

JetBlue said last week that it has increased the frequency with which it is cleaning surfaces in its airport terminals with a hospital-grade disinfectant.

United also said last week that it is working with Cleveland Clinic experts and Clorox to ensure it is using the best cleaning practices.

Many airport shops may be closed, and not all airlines are serving food on flights, so you may want to bring your own food for the plane. Most airports are discouraging the use of cash. You may want to make sure you have a tap-to-pay card or have set up

contactless payments like Apple Pay on your phone.

How can I be safe during check in and security?

That’s where your at-home prep comes in. Do as much of the process on your airline’s app as you can. Bring hand sanitizer in case you need to hand over documents or your phone, or if you need to key anything in at a kiosk. Pay attention to the floor markers indicating the proper social distancing. Even though crowds have been thin, maintaining social distancing may be difficult, so wear your mask. Expect T.S.A. agents to be wearing them as well.

T.S.A. has tweaked its security procedures to reduce how much travelers have to handle security bins and to keep agents from touching travelers’ belongings.

At the podium, you no longer have to hand your boarding pass to a T.S.A. agent. Instead, you will place your electronic or paper boarding pass on the boarding pass reader yourself. After scanning, you should hold your boarding pass up for an agent to inspect it.

If you have food, don’t put it into your carry on. Put it into a clear plastic bag and then put that bag into a bin. “Separating the food from the carry-on bag lessens the likelihood that a T.S.A. officer will need to open the carry-on bag and remove the food items for a closer inspection,” a T.S.A. announcement on Thursday said. T.S.A. Precheck members do not need to remove items from their bags.

To reduce the number of things that go into the reusable plastic bins, put items, including belts, wallets, keys and phones, into your carry-on bags, rather than into a bin.

If you need to be patted down, T.S.A. officers will change gloves after each pat down.

How can I make it through the boarding scrum?

Ask your airline what its current procedure for boarding is. Southwest, for example, has been having people board in groups of 10, with people only

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lining up on one side of its boarding poles. United is boarding people by row, with people sitting in the back of the plane boarding after preboarding groups.

JetBlue is also implementing back-to-front boarding.

Most airlines are boarding fewer people at a time to keep crowds from forming at the gate, on the jet bridge and as people get on the plane. Airlines are also asking people to scan their own boarding passes.

Policies differ by airline, but most airlines are asking passengers to wear masks to board and on flights.

Do I need to wipe down my seat?

Doing a full Naomi Campbell is not necessarily a bad idea, but airlines say they have stepped up the deep cleaning of planes, sometimes between every flight.

Delta is using an “electrostatic sprayer,” which releases a mist of disinfectant. American Airlines planes are tidied throughout the day and cleaned for more than six hours every night. Alaska Airlines increased its cleaning procedures between flights. Most airlines have created a Covid-19 page with information about what they are doing to keep passengers safe. This page, in many cases, has detailed information about what kind of cleaning protocols an airline is following.

Do I need to keep my mask on?

Yes, most airlines are asking people to keep them on for the duration of their flight. You should know that the air on the plane is pretty clean: Commercial planes recycle cabin air using High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, so the air might not be fresh, but it is scrubbed. HEPA filters catch 99 percent of airborne microbes, according to the International Air Transportation Association, an industry group.

Masks can be taken off to eat and drink (on airlines that are serving meals). You can bring your own food onto the plane, though Southwest is asking people to eat before traveling. United recently introduced an “all in one” economy snack bag that includes a sanitizer wipe, an 8.5 oz. bottled water, a Stroopwafel and a package of pretzels. It is being passed out during the flight.

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June 2020

Will someone be in the seat next to me?

They might be. Pictures of flights in which every seat seems full have been making the rounds on social media. They are not the norm. On average, flights are carrying about 39 passengers, down from the first two months of the year, when flights were carrying about 85 to 100 passengers.

Airlines for America, an industry lobbying group, says that most flights — about 73 percent — are less than 50 percent full.

“Airlines are attempting to leave some seats open for distancing between travelers when feasible, but not all circumstances allow for that,” the organization said in a statement this week.

If you are concerned about sitting next to someone and have a choice of airlines, consider their different policies. JetBlue said this week that it will continue to block middle seats on Airbus planes in rows where people aren’t traveling together through July 4, and will block aisle seats on smaller Embraer 190 planes.

Most airlines state on the reservation page what kind of aircraft they will be flying, but if that information is not there, you can enter the information that you do have about a flight, like its departure city, destination and date of travel on a site like ITA Matrix or SeatGuru to find out about the aircraft.

United said this week that it will be limiting advance seat selections “where possible” and allowing customers to take alternative flights when a flight is expected to be more than 70 percent full. The airline will reach out to customers via email 24 hours before their flight to provide rebooking options.

When choosing your seat, if you think you won’t need to get up for the duration of the flight, a window seat is a good idea because people sitting in window seats have less contact with potentially sick people.

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June 2020