Aviation Changes - New Policies to Get Moving
COVID-19 has closed many borders around the world and any hope of going on a vacation has been canned. The aviation industry is an essential one but during the rising numbers of imported cases around the world, necessary grounding and closure has been needed to avoid further exacerbating numbers. I’ve been thinking about air travel a lot lately, it’s important for me to be able to get around to different countries for personal and work related matters. The pandemic has left me waiting to see when and how flights will resume and what type of measures will be introduced.
Various measures have been suggested by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), but it remains to be seen what will really come into effect one flights begin to move again. Face masks are the expected to be the norm as they are expected to be worn by all passengers and crew members. There is a battle to maintain health standards and keep flying affordable, social distancing on flights has been viewed as implausible in this situation and other measures will be put into place instead. Frequent cleaning of the cabin and restricted contact/movement are just a few of the proposed measures. There hasn’t been any mention of technology or cabin modification for flights just yet, there are however changes to be made on the ground during check-in, boarding and landing.
Aside from contactless security screening, an emphasis on temperature screening has been gone forward. Various countries in Asia have temperature screening facilities for flights and the rest of the world are to follow suit. The UK is a rare instance of keeping its borders open throughout this pandemic, it’s also going to be the testing grounds for new anti-viral technology and policy implementations. Other countries will be watching closely and it’s crucial that a new international standard is introduced to ensure sufficient measures are put into place to detect infectious disease. While it won’t be possible to catch those who carry the virus in an incubation stage, I have to wonder whether a pre-flight quarantine will come in to practice. Aside from landing at a destination and undergoing two weeks of self-isolation, perhaps this will also be required for passengers heading out for departure. This is less than practical as this would mean almost a month being spent on both ends in isolation but it may be a possible approach that some countries explore as a temporary measure until better standards are introduced.
https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2020-05-05-01/
https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/heathrow-airport-trials-anti-virus-tech-in-quest-for-new-normal-20200507-p54qjp
