It’s been months since you last traveled, but since the pandemic happened, traveling is likely to be different from when the world, including you, did not know about the coronavirus.
Changes in the in-flight scenario are bound to happen, and a lot of questions are surely flying around your head before you finally decide to hop in your next flight to explore the world.
How will the seating arrangement be? Are you really going to spend hours on the plane with strangers seating very near you? How about wearing masks on the flight? What if the plane gets full of passengers?
If you think that a life without traveling is not much of a life, but you are still worried about the “new normal” when it comes to traveling by air, then you certainly need to know about the 15 ways your next flight is going to be, as laid down by airline medical experts.
United’s corporate medical director on the pandemic and healthy flying https://t.co/3UeGkDiboZ by @hbaskas #paxex #crewlife pic.twitter.com/QlobYE9Wkm
— Runway Girl Network 🏳️🌈 (@RunwayGirl) April 29, 2020
Pat Baylis, 35-year United veteran and the only full-time, on-site medical director at a US airline, shares how United will be handling flights after the onset of the pandemic. Together with Clorox and Cleveland Clinic, Baylis implemented the United CleanPlus program which aims to be updated with the requirements that need to be met in order to maintain COVID-free flights.
In an email to Buzzfeed, Baylis shared her team’s efforts and work towards achieving their goal.
“Our team is in constant contact with leading health organizations around the world, and as their guidelines change, our recommendations to the company change.”
The “new normal” procedures in-flight of United are similar to the policies of other airlines such as AmericanAirlines and Delta.
Are you ready for your next flight? Then these 15 things are what you should keep in mind.
1. Boarding passes must be downloaded or printed out at home.
Human to human interaction needs to be minimized so we can be more confident about curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Downloading your own boarding pass via the United app or united.com so lesser physical contact is needed to complete your boarding process.
2. You are the one in charge of scanning your boarding pass at the gate. And of course, the boarding and disembarking process are all new and improved for this purpose.
Scanning your own boarding pass is also requested of passengers traveling in the midst of the pandemic. The new boarding and disembarking process of United is prepped up to cater to the needs of the travelers.
“We are also deplaning by row — front to back — to also reduce the number of people customers walk by as they exit,” Baylis said. “This is a good way to reduce the exposure customers have to each other.”
3. Be truthful in declaring how you are free of COVID-19 symptoms
It is definitely necessary for passengers to declare that they are free of COVID-19 symptoms. Of course, this declaration should be truthful, otherwise, you will be breaching protocol and endangering the lives of many. At United, this part of the procedure is being taken very seriously.
“The Ready-to-Fly checklist asks customers to confirm they have not experienced COVID-19–related symptoms in the past 14 days and they have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 21 days. It also verifies that customers will wear a face covering on board,” said Baylis.
4. Sanitation measures at airports are increased.
As a response to the pandemic, airports are also intent on maintaining heightened sanitation measures in the vicinity. Keeping the premises clean and free of bacteria is of utmost importance.
“We’ve begun using the Clorox Total 360 Electrostatic Sprayers in our gate areas to help us disinfect the airport. Right now, this is only live at our Chicago hub, but we are planning to expand to additional airports,” said Baylis.
5. An electrostatic sprayer will clean commonly touched areas before passengers get on board.
Lavatories, seatbelts, armrests and door handles are some of the most frequently touched parts of a plane. By using an electrostatic sprayer, these areas are cleaned back to their germ-free state before every boarding and take-off.
6. Everyone is not exempt from wearing a mask
There is no excuse to wearing masks. All airports are imposing a strict face-covering policy and you can expect yourself to be thrown out if you don’t abide by the rules. If you forgot your mask, there’s no need to worry at all because United, and probably any other airport, will provide one for you.
7. You’ll be provided with hand-sanitizing wipes as you board. And there’s a snack bag, too!
Well, the wipes are always available, but the snack bag depends on your flight package. The bag contains a bottle of water, pretzels, and a stroopwafel. These are given to passengers who are traveling for more than two hours and twenty minutes long.
8. Sitting next to other passengers might not be the case.
As part of the physical distancing that needs to be followed to prevent the spread of the virus, you can totally expect that you will not be seated next to others in-flight. United is highly focused on keeping this rule in place every single time.
9. If the flight is expected to be fairly full, United will let you know and give you the chance to change your flight for FREE.
Should you be included in a flight that eventually got more passengers than expected, there is no need for you to panic. Moving out of the flight is free of charge and United will even do it for you!
10. A touchless bag drop is available for luggage you want to check-in.
With luggage that you want to check-in but afraid that you might get infected because of letting others touch your bag? Worry not because United has just the solution for you: touchless bag drop!
Baylis shared how this will all work:
“At the airport, customers will use a kiosk and scan their printed or mobile boarding pass. Any luggage tags associated with the name on the boarding pass will print immediately. Then customers can bring their bag to a designated drop-off, all without needing to touch anything besides their own belongings,” said the United veteran.
11. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters clean and circulate the air during the flight.
Air should be clean to maintain optimum safety from the virus. Amid the flight, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are working hard to keep the air clean and well-circulated.
The filters remove up to 99.97% of airborne particles, “including dust, viruses, and bacteria.”
“The air circulation completely circulates air every two to three minutes,”shared Baylis further.
12. There are AI and drone-operated cleaning processes and health screenings that are being tested out.
The fight against the pandemic is not yet over, and so United is looking for ways to make traveling by air even safer for its passengers. Artificial intelligence is being studied to reach this cause.
13. If you refused to wear a mask, you could be put on an internal travel restriction list.
Not wearing a mask is a serious violation. If ever there are people on board who simply refuse to wear mask, sorry to say but they will get banned from traveling with the airlines because they are practically putting everyone’s lives, including theirs, in danger of contracting the virus.
After the flight, the incident will be carefully reviewed and if found guilty, the passenger will be stripped of his travel benefits for a period of time.
14. Onboard services like alcoholic drinks and pillows have been cut or changed.
Unlike before, buy-on-board products are not as encouraged these days. Even pillows were cut from the passenger’s privileges as these may be venues for contamination.
“We’ve also reduced buy-on-board products, including alcohol, to avoid a touchpoint of customers and flight attendants having to share credit cards and additional food items,” said Baylis.
15. Just follow the policies for a safer, and peaceful flight.
And finally, just follow all the rules. The safety of everyone on board is met when everyone is participating and abiding by the rules of the flight aimed at keeping all people on the plane safe from the virus. Some of the current rules being implemented may be lifted after some time, but there are some that will remain as part of the “new normal”.
Airlines are always after the safety of everyone who decides to travel with them. It is definitely important to be obedient and understanding because everything that’s being done is ultimately for the benefit of all.
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