Passengers may have to collect sealed “grab and go” meal bags before they board planes to reduce their contact with cabin crew on flights under a range of options for the post lockdown era being considered by aviation bosses.
Airlines want to make their planes as “touchless” as possible to boost passengers’ confidence that it is safe to fly.
Meals in the economy cabin would be cold and all packaging would be disposable. Hot meals could still be served in the business and first class cabins but on plastic or card plates. A range of measures to make flying compatible with social distancing are being drawn up by the world Travel and Tourism Council in a document titled “Travelling In The New Normal”.
Passengers are likely to be told to arrive at airports up to four hours ahead of departure to give them time to clear new coronavirus checks.
They may no longer be able to check in online in advance but would have to join a socially distanced queue to a desk at the terminal as in the pre-digital era.
They would then be swabbed and tested for the virus before being able to go through security. The extra procedures mean that they will be told to allow three hours for a short-haul flight and four hours for long haul. Passengers will also probably have to wear masks as they make their way through the airport to the gate, where waiting areas will have to be expanded to allow passengers to stay two metres apart.
Boarding could take up to an hour and the “jetbridge” to the plane could be used as a final “disinfectant tunnel”.
During the flight, cabin crew could come round with sanitisers every half hour. Planes are likely to fly only around 60 to 70 per cent full, with some entire rows kept empty. This is believed to be an option being looked at by British Airways. However, it is thought unlikely that many airlines will keep all the middle seats vacant as that would do little to maintain social distancing but would be enormously costly.
Travel expert Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Agency consultancy, said aviation would only emerge slowly from the lockdown with domestic flights starting again in June, services to southern Europe in July and August and long-haul from September.
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Independent aviation analysts Chris Tarry said planes would have to be fully disinfected after every flight, ending any chance of the half-hour turnaround times targeted by budget airlines to keep their costs down.
