AV I AT I O N
SAFE TRAVELS What are airlines doing to reassure passengers about flying amidst the pandemic?
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here are many reasons people aren’t flying at the moment. Lockdowns and quarantines make it either difficult or close to impossible to get to many destinations, and airlines – and the travel industry as a whole – haven’t had much luck so far in persuading governments to relax these restrictions. It’s not all bad news: China, for example, saw domestic flights push past pre-COVID levels ahead of its National Day public holiday in October, according to aviation analytics company Cirium, but much of this was leisure travel. Meanwhile, airlines have been using this period to introduce new protocols to reassure passengers that when travel does return, they can travel safely. From ramping up cleaning procedures to handing out hygiene kits, carriers are exploring ways to lure wary travellers back to the skies. Here we look at how new safety measures have fundamentally changed the experience of flying.
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ALEX CHEBAN
BOARDING
All airports are mandating that passengers should wear face coverings unless there is a medical reason for not doing so, and social distancing is in place throughout the terminals. Even so, travellers can often end up DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021
in close contact during boarding, whether they are lined up at the gate, waiting on an airbridge or standing in the aisle while other people put their bags into overhead lockers. Pre-pandemic, a number of airlines were exploring ways to make the boarding process as speedy as possible. Now, many have traded efficiency for safety and are boarding small groups of passengers using one of the slowest ways to get people on to an aircraft: back-to-front boarding. This can sometimes involve boarding passengers in economy class before those in premium cabins. While US carriers Delta Air Lines and United have adopted back-to-front boarding, the former’s premium cabin customers can get on at their leisure at any time during general boarding, although it says boarding is limited to ten customers at a time. United is also allowing passengers in premium cabins to board at any time. Virgin Atlantic is promising (along with Heathrow airport) that all of the seating at the gate will be sanitised, boarding will start from the back of the aircraft (with Upper Class passengers able to get on at any time), all customers will be asked to scan their own boarding pass and hold up their passport for inspection to minimise contact, and all Virgin staff will be wearing face masks.
