Air travel will never be the same after coronavirus
Joann Muller
Whenever you're ready to fly again, be prepared: air travel after the coronavirus will look and feel a lot different from the last time you boarded a plane.
The big picture: With passenger traffic down 95% during the height of the pandemic, airlines have all but given up on trying to salvage the lucrative summer travel season. The global industry expects to lose $314 billion this year, and airline executives say it could be two to three years before air travel recovers to pre-crisis levels.
In the meantime, pack your patience along with your face mask: everything is going to take longer.
Expect new procedures for everything from luggage check-in to security clearance and boarding. You might even need to have your blood tested to prove you're in good health before boarding. “9/11 changed travel completely with added security checks and longer check-in times. The impact of COVID-19 on air travel will be even more far-reaching,” says airline consultant Shashank Nigam, CEO and founder of SimpliFlying, in a blog post.
The big question: How much hassle will people tolerate, or will they avoid flying altogether?
What's happening: Right now, flights are practically empty, making it easy to spread out for social distancing.
Despite a $50 billion taxpayer-funded relief package, airlines say they'll need to shrink to match lower demand. As they consolidate flights, planes will fill up again. Jet Blue Airways and United Airlines say they'll require passengers to wear face masks, and others say they'll make them available. (Flight crews are already wearing masks on many airlines.) U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wants the FAA to make masks mandatory for everyone.
Airlines also say they'll limit ticket sales so that middle seats can remain open. Masks and social distancing are only the beginning. In a new report, "The Rise of Sanitised Travel," SimpliFlying anticipates dozens of ways air travel might change in the coming months and years. Some examples:
Online check-in: Besides choosing their seat or paying for checked bags, passengers might also need to upload a document to confirm the presence of COVID-19 antibodies before they fly. Airport curbside: Passengers could be required to arrive at least four hours ahead of their flight, and pass through a "disinfection tunnel" or thermal scanner to check their temperature before being allowed to enter the airport.
Check-in and bag drop: New touchless kiosks would allow passengers to check in by scanning a barcode, or using gestures or voice commands. Agents would be behind plexiglass shields, and bags would be disinfected and then "sanitagged."
Health check: Passengers would undergo a health screening, and potentially even have their blood tested. In April, Emirates became the first airline to conduct rapid on-site COVID-19 testing of passengers before boarding.
Security: Each carry-on bag and security bin would be disinfected when entering the X-ray machine, using fogging or UV-ray techniques, then “sanitagged."
Boarding: Passengers would need to be present an hour before departure, maintain social distancing in the gate area and board only when they receive individual notifications on their smartphones to prevent crowding in the jet bridge.
On the plane: The pre-flight safety video might include sanitation procedures, as passengers wipe down their seats and tray tables. In-flight magazines will be removed, seatback pockets emptied, and passengers will likely use their own devices to watch videos. An in-flight janitor might keep lavatories and other high-touch areas disinfected after passenger use.
What to watch: Designers like Italy's Aviointeriors are contemplating new seating arrangements or barriers between seats to minimize the risk.
Imagine the middle seat facing the other way, for example, with clear barriers between passengers.
The bottom line: If it seems hard to fathom, remember this: we never imagined we'd have to take off our shoes before passing through airport security, either.
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Just Remember, We ALL Told You So.
Posts: 22442 | Location: Occupying Little Minds Rent Free | Registered: 04 October 2012
Ever since some asshole tried to blow up a jet with his shoe hundreds of millions of people have had to remove their shoes before boarding. And now this?
When will we learn that there is risk inherent in living; not all risk can be eliminated or even reduced; there must be a reasonable relationship between risk avoidance and inconvenience.
USMC Retired DSC Life Member SCI Life Member NRA Life Member
Actually, all these risks can be avoided with a little of common sense.
But having travelled so much, and came across an incredible amount of stupidity at airports, I am absolutely certain the powers that be don’t really want to stop it.
The proof is the stupid people they employ at air ports.
Unless, and until, a reliable vaccine is available, I will not be traveling by air. Neither will many others. Air travel may never return to pre-crisis levels.
Posts: 84 | Location: Eastern USA | Registered: 08 December 2009
One of my biggest concerns would be results of tests given/interpreted by others. Sorry Sir, your running a fever, coughing, runny nose, hoarse voice, you cant fly today. Sorry Sir, your test was positive, negative, inconclusive, you cant fly today. In fact, come back and see us in 14 days after quarantining for re-test. this promises to be a cluster, and probably too much risk for most of us.
One of the best ways of preventing respiratory disease in any close space be it a cattle shed, pig house, aeroplane, train, terminal or office is to ensure a large volume of air flows through it to remove any contaminants.
First lesson in any farm animal husbandry lesson, and thats why cattle barns, pig units etc all have so much ventilation.
Lesson has never got across to those who design buildings for humans. Its all about reducing energy consumption. Instead just make buildings so they can let in lots of fresh air. Stop making hermetically sealed trains, and in aeroplanes turn ventilation rates up to max.
If you breath out and your exhaust air is immediately sucked out and vented out the aircraft You are not going to infect anyone. If instead you breath 5th hand air no wonder we get sick.
There has been an ongoing controversy over airlines turning down ventilation rates to a minimum. About time they turned them to the max - expensive - perhaps. But whats the cost of treating a covid patient in intensive care???
Posts: 987 | Location: Scotland | Registered: 28 February 2011
And i wonder if we will see a rise and investment in fast overland travel by trains and a return of ocean liners, And rather going on a one week holiday every year, go back to the days of proper leave after a few years when you spending a month travelling to a fro by sea wasn’t an issue in six month break.
Posts: 987 | Location: Scotland | Registered: 28 February 2011
