[ad_1]
In April 2019, more than two million travelers crossed American airports every day, but a year later, traffic at these airports seemed almost non-existent, due to the Corona epidemic that occurred without warning.
People stay home for fear of contracting the virus, travel has decreased to more than 95 percent, and the number of travelers has reached fewer than 100,000 passengers across the United States daily.
The fear of traveling is still present, and it looks like it will continue for a while, but is what happened seen as the beginning of a permanent decline in air travel, or will things get back to normal? And when?
CNBC has spoken with healthcare professionals and the tourism industry to understand medical risks.
Experts agreed that it would take 18 months to two years, before the travel trip returned to normal.
Experts believe the travel industry will be subject to major changes, and in addition to security checks, travelers will undergo a medical examination to make sure they are virus-free, and tourists will start spending their vacations in nearby locations. to your country or from your homes, and not much will travel to far away places. .
A survey by a travel market research company called Longwoods International showed that 82 percent of Americans have already changed their travel plans over the next six months due to the new Corona virus, and half of them said they had canceled their trips, according to a survey of 1,000 American adults.
Risky
Both aviation and public health experts believe that traveling in particular will be slower to recover.
Airlines, such as Delta, are considering issuing unofficial “immunity passports” to those who prove they have contracted and recovered from the virus, indicating that they have become immune to the disease.
However, Harvard global health professor Ashish Jha questions the success of such an idea, as HIV infection has been shown to recur again to people who have already recovered from it, “and testing is still they are not accurate. ”
Airports are now measuring the temperature, but Jhaha believes that, despite its importance, it does not detect patients who do not show symptoms.
Jha believes the solution for airlines to convince travelers to come back and feel safe is to provide evidence and places to isolate the injured, and to reassure passengers on the planes that the injured are not on board the flight after examine everyone.
Airlines began requiring travelers to wear face masks, and some began implementing social space on the plane by evacuating the middle seats.
And many airlines are still canceling international flights that would take place next summer and fall.
Experts say the return of travel traffic gradually, mainly due to a significant decrease in the number of infections and deaths caused by the virus.
