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Travel, destination. Concepts with which great things were dealt with, from Homer to Cavafy. Following in his footsteps, romantics form lots of distant journeys. The most cynical, the vast majority, put aside their existential mental searches to distant places and simply board a plane or a ship. A well-established routine in the air or at sea, whether for fun or work.
The distances have been erased and all point to a choreography of a thousand pages. The pandemic, however, dramatically changed the obvious and turned even the closest trip into an Odyssey. The coroner has decimated the travel industry, and social estrangement is hard to squeeze into the confined spaces of an airplane, a ship, a hotel unit, or even an idyllic plaza filled with tourists.
It remains to be seen, then, what the future holds for travel, now that borders, airports, and ports are slowly opening, as are businesses, shops, museums, and everything else associated with travel. Airlines, however, are working feverishly to adapt to the new unfavorable environment in order to save what can be saved.
Inside the planes
The flights will be more difficult, more unpleasant and more expensive. A smaller number of airlines will use reduced routes and apply social distance measures, that is, fewer passengers, which of course will significantly increase the cost of tickets.
The distance to be maintained between passengers will currently be achieved by leaving the intermediate seats empty. This is a painful solution for airlines already bleeding, as it will reduce fullness to 2/3 at best. Passengers will be required to wear face masks, while companies will step up the procedure to clean and disinfect the interior of the planes.
After and before each trip, a special disinfecting spray will be used in addition to the standard cleaning. However, structural changes to the aircraft’s interior cabin also appear to be under consideration. An Italian company has already invented a patent for the economy class seats. It is a plastic that sticks between the seats, creating something like separate private rooms and reducing the risk of infection. It is almost like a plexiglass screen that separates passengers.
Another solution is that the middle passenger sits looking in the opposite direction from his neighbors. In other words, it will be inverted and isolated with protectors. Airlines can no longer offer pillows and blankets. Instead, they will provide a care kit for cleaning and hand hygiene.
Blood tests, thermometers, and tests.
Some companies are expected to use tests that directly detect the crown, especially on transatlantic voyages. Emirates has already announced that it will launch blood tests on passengers, although this tactic is not expected to be adopted en masse. AirAsia recently introduced the new cabin crew suits, consisting of masks, special plastic on the front of the face, and protective suits.
Temperature controls will be a measure of mass. An example is Air Canada, which plans to start taking temperature measurements during check-in. Most airports will now have thermal cameras at their entrances that will read passengers’ temperatures before they enter.
Passengers will be asked to complete an online health questionnaire. In fact, with the consent of the passenger, travel companies can use personal data such as age, underlying diseases and general history to create an individual profile regarding whether one belongs to vulnerable groups or not.
Check-in
The registration process is expected to change dramatically in the post-COVID-19 era. The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico already offers a window into the future. The most immediate and perhaps most visible change will be the cessation of the exchange of travel documents between staff and passengers. Automation across the sector will be the new norm.
Biometrics is already a widely accepted solution for authentication and its use will become more widespread as fingerprints and hand scanners are removed. More non-touch options will be enabled, including contactless fingerprints and facial recognition.
Additionally, contactless data entry technology is already being tested, such as gesture testing, document scanning, and voice commands. These technological tools will only be effective if users ensure that their personal data is protected. Confidentiality, consent and transparent data management must be at the heart of any technical solution.
A thermal imaging camera will scan passengers and trigger an alarm when a temperature above 37.8 is recorded. In this case, the passenger will be removed from a special workshop for further evaluation. A coronary test is likely to be done on the spot. This tactic is expected to be used at most central airports.
Another solution that is being seriously considered to maintain the necessary distances during the registration process is to use the airport’s outdoor parking lots. Then there will be kiosks with employees, who will attend to passengers without crowding into closed spaces. How the Internet and mobile phones can be even more useful is also being reviewed. In addition to online check-in, that is, all information received by an employee during check-in will be sent to the passenger’s mobile phone.
Automated identification devices are likely to proliferate and also be installed outdoors. The luggage will be placed by the travelers themselves in automatic outdoor corridors, without human intervention. Then, with a special number, passengers will enter a tunnel, which will take them directly to the plane. Boarding, as well as disembarking, will be carried out in sections to maintain distances.
accommodation
For now, let’s forget about the rich breakfast buffet and the smiling service. It is wiser to accept the thermometer and remove the key from the traditional room. Hotel guests are expected to experience a different experience the next time they walk through a hotel door, wherever they are.
Most importantly, shared spaces will be kept to a minimum, as will access to bars and restaurants, and services like wellness centers are unlikely to work for a while. Guests will check-in and check-out without keys, while contact at the reception will be kept to a minimum.
All instructions and information will be sent by email. Of course, there will be a person behind the plexiglass for an emergency. Hygiene, of course, is the highest priority. All hotel groups will adopt new cleaning techniques. An example is the Hilton chain, which investigates the use of electrostatic sprayers, which uniformly disinfect large areas. Marriott has already announced that it will use them to clean rooms and public areas, while testing ultraviolet radiation technology.
Many companies have announced that they will remove some of the furniture and remodel the decor to make it easier to keep the two-meter distance. There is no doubt that this new regularity will affect the hotel’s income. What has not been clarified is whether customers should pay for those that do not work.
The traditional room phone is said to be replaced by guest cell phones, through which they will be able to access specially packaged room services to be delivered outside their door and without contact. Masks and gloves will be ubiquitous and disinfecting wipes will be the latest additions to public spaces and personal care sets.
There will be a control so that many people do not enter the elevator at the same time. Finally, a special protocol will be designed for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. The “Four Seasons” in New York already uses only one entrance where the temperature of each person is controlled. Finally, there will be nursing staff in all the main hotel units.
Floating media will be no exception and will also undergo major changes. These include passenger health checks and emergency plans in the event of a shipwreck. Strict protocols for disinfection and the provision of personal protective equipment are considered prerequisites.
Genting Cruise Lines, a Hong Kong-based company that owns many cruise ships, has already introduced new operating standards, including a ban on self-service buffets. It also performed twice-daily boarding and disembarking passenger temperature checks for all crew members and masks for housewives and food service providers, and will require a doctor’s note for all older passengers. 70 years. Another change for large ships and cruises is the place of arrival.
Even if the pleasure trip seems to be a long way away right now, people will not stop exploring the planet. The quieter destinations will be popular with young people, while travel and travel will adapt to the new data. In addition, at least for the first time, airlines are expected to attract consumer interest with discounts and offers.
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