Over the past year, the COVID pandemic has prompted airlines all across the world to make changes to their cleaning procedures to help stop the spread of the virus among travelers. While we’ve pretty much all seen the infographics and Instagram posts airlines have put out to show travelers and travel managers the extra steps they’re taking, you can now take a tour for yourself to see the airlines’ cleaning procedure in action.
Delta’s Charlie Schewe told CNBC, “We’ve actually found these airport tours are a great way to showcase what we’re doing and bring people out here to see it first-hand.” Overall, air travel is down 60% and business air travel is down 85%, so airlines are hoping that showing in-depth tours of the safety procedures, will help put travel managers’ minds at ease.
“I was surprised at how busy the airport was, but was impressed with the measures they’ve taken to keep things clean and people safe. From the time I entered the terminal where they have enhanced cleaning, plexiglass shields, touchless check in and bag tagging all the way to boarding at the gate, my concerns about getting back on the road were eased. We boarded a flight as it was being cleaned for the next departure and got to see how the crew cleans everything,” Michelle Buchanan, Gant Strategic Account Manager says after taking a tour with American Airlines at DFW.
The sanitization efforts are paying off and according to Alaska Airlines, the odds of catching COVID while on a plane is one in 27 million. Furthermore, a person would have to sit directly next to an infected passenger for 54 hours in order to contract COVID on a flight when proper precautions are taken.
“The company that does the cleaning for AA has a team of 500 employees who clean the planes throughout the day (10-12 flights per team per day), and they said that their COVID numbers are in the single digits,” Buchanan explains, “I’m somewhat of a germaphobe but am confident that traveling by air is safer now than it has ever been and I’m ready to book my next trip.”
You don’t have to take our word for it though. Schedule a tour of the cleaning procedures and see for yourself how airlines are working to prevent the spread of COVID.
Contact the airline to learn more and schedule your tour today.
