US airlines unveil new safety measures in effort to reassure passengers that it's safe to fly again

Greater air travel expected over Memorial Day weekend

Grounded JetBlue planes ((2020 Getty Images))

Jetblue Airways and United Airlines, have announced new safety measures aimed at restoring the public’s confidence in air travel, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The two airlines announced the new safety measures on Wednesday, and confirmed that they expect an increase in domestic travel over the Memorial Day weekend, according to Reuters.

The airline industry has been badly affected by the coronavirus outbreak, as borders across the world have been shut to tourists, and countries have restricted travel domestically.

Now that states are starting to reopen their economies in the US, airlines are attempting to regain the public’s trust in air travel, to try and restart the badly affected industry.

Major airlines already require passengers to wear face masks, and have been blocking off middles seats, in order to keep distance between travellers.

On Wednesday, United Airlines announced new safety measures, that include using Clorox’s electrostatic sprayers and disinfecting wipes, that have been approved for use against coronavirus, at US hubs in Chicago and Denver.​

They expect to roll out the measures to other locations in the following weeks, and will also perform temperature checks on staff and use touchless kiosks at airports.

JetBlue announced that they will continue to leave middle seats empty, and will check on cabin crew members’ temperatures as they board the plane.

Similarly to United, JetBlue will improve their cleaning onboard planes, by using electrostatic aircraft fogging, that will have a similar effect to Clorox’s sprayers.

Although the company did not announce new cleaning measures on Wednesday, sources told Reuters that Delta Air Lines will continue to cap its passenger load to 60 per cent beyond June, to attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19.

JetBlue president and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty told the outlet that the airline is starting to see less cancellations on their flights, and an increase in bookings later in the year.

United’s new CEO, Scott Kirby, said that the air travel industry is seeing a partial recovery, but added that it is unlikely that it will fully return to normal until people feel safe from Covid-19.

He said: “We won’t get back to 100% until some time after people feel completely safe and Covid-19 will thankfully be in the rearview mirror.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.5 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 94,994.