Are airlines required to maintain physical distance on their planes?
Updated on the day: 05/12/2020. The controversy generated by the dissemination of a video taken by a passenger of flight IB3838 that covered the route Madrid to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria operated by Iberia Express, and in which denounced the lack of physical distance between travelers , has led the aeronautical industry to give explanations to all those passengers concerned about the prevention measures against Covid-19 inside planes.
These measures are not few, and all of them strictly comply with the legislation established by EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and IATA (International Air Transport Association). But in response to the controversy that most worries passengers today, including there is no obligation to leave a seat free . And so, What are airlines, crew and passengers obliged to do to avoid spreading the pandemic? These are some of the measures carried out:
PHYSICAL DISTANCE IS NOT MANDATORY ON AN AIRPLANE
Both the industry, with IATA in the lead, and the manufacturer Airbus, have recently expressed that the blocking of the central seat is a measure that is not necessary to provide greater security, since the aircraft offers specific characteristics that make the risk of contagion be low. Unlike other public transport, in the aircraft cabin, the air is renewed every three minutes and the use of HEPA filters eliminates viruses and bacteria with an effectiveness of 99.99 percent . Even so, airlines whose flights are not full are offering that physical distance for free, since today the demand is still low.
In any case, the controversy of social distance in the cabin of an airplane not only affects our country, since according to published today by the EFE agency , the CEO of the Australian airline Qantas Alan Joyce also bet on “an exception in the safety distance measures on domestic routes, due to the lack of evidence of contagion on flights, and also due to economic infeasibility”.
From the Australian airline they show that, even if the middle seat is left empty, only 60 centimeters of distance are obtained, and this must be, in order to have the desired safety effect, at least 1.5 meters. Even so, and in the event that said distance had to be applied in order to fly, many fewer people would fly and prices will be very high.
Joyce's statements collide with guidelines that other countries like the United States seem to want to follow, although in practice, and if the demand is high, flights in the US are still full.
Also as a result of a controversial tweet from a United passenger, surprised at the lack of physical distance on his flight to San Francisco , the American airline has confirmed that it will do everything possible to, starting in June, " notify your passengers one day before flying if the plane is more than 70% occupied . Those who do not want to fly because they cannot keep their distance, can choose another flight or a voucher for the amount", as published by the New York Times . A sensible measure that, although it shows that no airline is, at the moment, obliged to maintain physical distance between passengers on planes , they are taking extraordinary measures so that their passengers fly more calmly within the security environment that is already provided in the cabin of an aircraft.
MANDATORY MASK
As of May 11 , and in practically all airlines worldwide, both passengers and crews have to wear a mask, which reduces contagion to 1% if both people with physical contact carry it.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR TRAVELERS
The company air France has just announced that from today, and in order to guarantee the best level of health security, it will progressively deploy a temperature control device at the exit of all your flights , a systematic check to be carried out with non-contact infrared thermometers . To travel it will be necessary to have a temperature below 38°C . Customers with a higher temperature may be denied boarding and their reservation will be modified free of charge for a later departure.
THE IMPORTANT THING IS DISINFECTION
Both Iberia and Iberia Express, like most airlines, have proactively reinforced and following the EASA indications the cleanliness in the airplanes , both in frequency and with the use of products indicated against COVID-19. As we told here, until a safe way is found for catering time, both airlines have also modified and simplified the service on board to reduce contact and the press on board.