Analyzes at the airport and beaches with partitions: what awaits tourists after a pandemic

Sun loungers separated by plexiglass. Blood sampling and sanitizer disinfection before flight. This may sound wild, but in fact it is precisely such measures that are now being considered by representatives of the tourism industry in order to protect tourists and provide them with maximum comfort in the post-quarantine world, writes Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

It’s too early, of course, to say when international flights will resume. Argentina, for example, extended the travel ban until September, and one British minister said he would not book a summer vacation abroad soon.

So what can we expect from future travels when they finally become possible?

At the airport

Many airports in the world, including London, have already introduced new rules for those who are currently forced to fly to another country or city.

They are based on existing government recommendations and include maintaining a distance of 2 meters (with the exception of people living together), sanitizers available throughout the airport building, as well as a more even distribution of passenger traffic across all terminals.

In the United States, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) urges passengers to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after the screening process.

At the international airport in Hong Kong, the device is currently being tested, which performs a complete disinfection in 40 seconds: it is able to destroy both bacteria and viruses on the skin and clothing.

At the same time, parallel testing of cleaning robots that travel around the halls and kill microbes with ultraviolet rays is now taking place. The same robots have already been tested in field hospitals.

Airports equipped with electronic kiosks for self check-in encourage passengers to actively use them to reduce interaction with other people.

At most airports, the new rules can be seen on posters and bulletin boards throughout the terminal building.

However, the process of going through all the pre-flight procedures may take longer due to stricter checks, says James Thornton, head of travel firm Intrepid.

“Just as emptying your luggage of all liquids and gadgets has become the norm, social distancing rules will become the norm,” he says, adding: “Perhaps immunity passports will be introduced.”

This year, several major airports announced the introduction of passenger temperature control to prevent the spread of coronavirus to other countries.

However, many experts doubted the effectiveness of this procedure, since it does not reveal asymptomatic carriers, so such checks will not be introduced everywhere.

A number of airlines went even further: Emirates offer their passengers a rapid blood test for the virus that causes Covid-19, before boarding the plane at the terminals of Dubai Airport. The test is ready in 10 minutes, as the airline claims.

On the subject: Pandemic Travel: What You Need to Know for US Air Travel

In airplane

While on the plane, you will have to rely on your imagination and mentally “complete” the smiles hiding under the masks of the flight attendants.

Most likely, they will have to do the same for you, because you will also be masked: more and more countries recommend wearing them on transport.

True, one can be glad that most major airlines will carry out deeper cleaning and disinfection of interiors, including folding tables, headboards and belts.

And if you soon find yourself aboard a Korean Air plane, then do not be alarmed if people in chemical protection suits suddenly appear in the aisle, because this airline is going to give them to all of its flight crews.

You can probably be glad that you won't have to share seat rails with anyone anymore, because most airlines say aisle seats will remain empty to maintain distance. At least in the coming months.

The pilot of the Dutch airline Tui by the name of Christian noted at the same time that such a measure, although it will allow to keep a distance, will be extremely costly for carriers or will fly into the penny for passengers.

“The loss of a third of seats means that either companies will fly at a loss, or the good old days will return when a ticket from Paris to Nice cost 1145 euros in today’s money,” he says.

According to him, countries that rely on tourism are already cooperating with air carriers: “I think that by the end of the summer season, some flights to certain destinations will be resumed.”

At the resort

How do you like the idea of ​​relaxing in an Italian resort? In this case, you may have to push through the deckchairs protected by plexiglass in search of a place in the shadow.

“I’ve already seen the drawings,” says Ulf Sontag of the Institute for Tourism and Resort Research in Northern Europe. “In Italy they are seriously considering this option as a working idea.”

Other European countries, he said, are also thinking about how to accommodate guests in hotels: either not all hotels should be populated, or allowed to check in not every room, but through one.

“If the goal is to maintain social distancing, then that will have to be taken into account. It looks like the pools won’t be open at Mediterranean resorts,” Sontag notes.

Restaurants also think about how they better arrange their tables. The Portuguese hotel chain Vila Gale is already stocking up large numbers of sanitizers and is planning to replace the buffet with a à la carte service only.

Athens medical professor Nikolaos Sipsas agrees that buffets pose a big risk - as do swimming pools, bars and beaches.

“I think that Greek beaches will be partially full, that is, there will be swimmers, but not close to each other. It won’t be like this, with everyone lying on each other’s heads on their towels,” he believes.

Other European countries are discussing the creation of so-called “tourism corridors” to connect areas or countries less affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Croatia, for example, has already announced that it could give residents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia special access to its beaches this summer.

On the subject: Come after a pandemic: Sicily will pay tourists 50% of the flight and a third of the hotel bill

Rest at home forever?

You probably do not think the above vacation option is so attractive. And you are certainly not alone. In all likelihood, in the future, vacations will mostly take place at home.

“People will probably travel less internationally. What used to be called “staycations at home” will become the norm,” says Andy Rutherford, founder of British tour operator Fresh Eyes.

In the wake of the current pandemic, cruise travel, winter skiing and long-distance flights can lose their attractiveness, especially when the world remembers the need to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere, he says.

“Our desire to travel should be based on mutual respect, solidarity and responsibility,” says Rutherford.

Ulf Sontag agrees that the coronavirus pandemic may change our habits as a result. “By traveling around their country, many will be able to realize that they don’t always need to go somewhere far,” the expert notes.

A recent study by the International Air Transport Organization (IATA) found that 60% of respondents would wait at least two months after an outbreak of coronavirus before booking airline tickets, and 40% said they would wait at least six months.

Boeing, which has cut its global workforce by 10% in response to the pandemic, does not expect air traffic levels to return to 2019 levels until 2023 at the earliest.

The IAG holding, which includes the British airline British Airways, also believes that this process may take several years.

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