Frenchmen await on board a humanitarian flight to Paris from Panama City | Luis Acosta / AFP via Getty Images
EU aviation health and safety regulators present plans for a return to flight.
Relaunching the aviation industry will mean a very different flight experience than before the pandemic.
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) sent draft safety guidelines to capitals on Wednesday. obtained by HEAVEN32, intended to allow the resumption of air travel while limiting the risk of transmission of coronaviruses.
They describe a series of changes, from keeping certain unoccupied seats to wearing masks in flight, they only allow passengers to enter terminals and do not allow people to line up in cabins to use the restroom .
Airlines and operators are eager to restart the European air travel industry, which has largely existed since March due to the coronavirus.
The European Commission Posted On Wednesday, he made his own general recommendations on travel, but called for a joint effort by EASA and ECDC to develop specific rules for air travel.
The document recommends masks for the entire trip and for passengers to complete health questionnaires and location maps.
Some ideas will be very unpopular in the industry.
The guidelines state that "where the number of passengers, cabin configuration and mass and balance requirements allow, airlines should guarantee, as far as possible, the physical distance between passengers".
Although some airlines such as Lufthansa and TAP Air Portugal have implemented empty line policies, most airlines oppose it, arguing that it is ineffective and is detrimental to its results. The guide is unable to require a distance between passengers and adds a warning that airlines should only do this if they can.
If social separation is not possible, "passengers and crew members on board an aircraft must comply with all other preventive measures at all times, including "Hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and wearing a facial mask," say the guidelines.
The guidelines also recommend leaving two empty rows to serve as a makeshift "isolation area" for passengers with symptoms of COVID-19 on board.
The guidelines state that temperature controls, a policy adopted by the industry, "are neither effective nor efficient in detecting introductions of COVID-19 or in delaying or mitigating a pandemic", adding that it this is a "low cost, high cost measure". Efficiency".
They also reject the idea of so-called immunity passports which show that passengers are COVID-19 free before they can board. The measure "is not supported by existing scientific knowledge", say the guidelines, but adds that the two regulators "are monitoring scientific developments and will update the recommendation where appropriate when appropriate evidence becomes available".
The document recommends masks for the entire trip and for passengers to complete health questionnaires and location maps, allowing governments to track people who may have been in contact with the infection.
There would also be changes on board the planes.
"Airlines should take steps to prevent passengers from queuing in the hallway or the kitchens for restrooms," said the project, a policy that Ryanair has already stated it will implement.
Finally, no more tearful goodbyes and happy greetings to the flyers.
An EasyJet aircraft with its jet engines covered | Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images
"Access to airport facilities should be limited to passengers, crew members and staff," say the directions, unless passengers with reduced mobility need assistance.
Aviation guidelines are not mandatory as national authorities have the power to implement health and safety policies but the EU hopes that a coordinated approach can help lighten the regulatory burden on the industry and stimulate its recovery.
The industry will now give its opinion on the guidelines before EASA finalizes them "in the coming weeks", according to the Commission.
This article has been updated to reflect the final version of the guidelines which have been submitted to the aviation industry for comment.
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