Airline body IATA is calling for passengers and crew to wear face-masks on all flights, but is against social distancing measures that would leave middle seats empty on aircraft.
IATA said mask-wearing will reduce the ‘already low risk’ of Covid-19 transmission on flights while avoiding the ‘dramatic cost increases’ to air travel that onboard social distancing measures would bring.
Airlines claim that leaving the middle seat empty on aircraft would reduce load factors to 62%, which is 15 percentage points below the average breakeven point for airlines.
IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said: “We must arrive at a solution that gives passengers the confidence to fly and keeps the cost of flying affordable. One without the other will have no lasting benefit.”
In addition to face coverings, it is proposing:
- Temperature screening of passengers, airport workers and travellers
- Boarding and deplaning processes that reduce contact with other passengers or crew
- Limiting movement within the cabin during flight
- More frequent and deeper cabin cleaning
- Simplified catering procedures that lower crew movement and interaction with passengers
- When proven and available at scale, testing for COVID-19 or immunity passports could also be included as temporary biosecurity measures
The IATA claims possible reasons why transmission appears to be low onboard aircraft include:
- Passengers face forward with limited face-to-face interactions
- Seats provide a barrier to transmission forward to aft in the cabin
- Air flow from ceiling to floor further reduces the potential for transmission forward or aft in the cabin, moreover, air flow rates are high and not conducive to droplet spread in the same way as in other indoor environments
- High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters on modern aircraft clean cabin air to operating theatre quality, further assisted by high levels of fresh air circulation
IATA claimed that leaving the middle seat empty on aircraft won’t provide the recommended separation for social distancing to be effective. The UK Government is recommending passengers remain two metres apart but the average seat width is less than 50cm.
