Aer Lingus virus plan: no-contact boarding in small groups
AER Lingus will board and disembark passengers in small groups and make the presentation of tickets and passports contact-free as part of its plans to minimise virus transmission risks on board.
The Irish carrier detailed its heightened precautions yesterday as a top European aviation safety official offered a qualified guarantee that passengers could travel safely on aircraft that observe Covid-19 protocols.
Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, said airlines should remove hot food from their menus, ensure hand sanitisation and air filtration on board, and space passengers who are not family members as far apart as possible.
“If you are not sick, we can reasonably guarantee – but not 100 percent – that you will not get the disease on board an aircraft or in an airport,” Mr Ky told RTÉ.
Aer Lingus already requires crew and passengers to wear masks and says its Airbus aircraft are equipped with hospital-grade air filtration units that “fully replace” the cabin air every three minutes.
The carrier, which currently operates a spartan schedule but plans to reopen much of its route network by July, said new measures would include intensive daily disinfecting of all hard surfaces inside each aircraft.
“Tray tables, arm rests and windows will be deep cleaned by hand and the interior of every aircraft will be thoroughly disinfected,” it said.
Aer Lingus will permit passengers not to wear masks only if they are “small children and those who are unable to wear a face mask for medical reasons”.
Boarding will now be done more slowly and at a distance.
Passengers will be directed to board and disembark by seat number and row. At the gate, passengers will scan their own tickets and display their passports or other ID to staff, but not hand them over.
It will serve no in-flight food and drink on short-haul services, while its long-haul
US flights – currently limited to three routes – will have reduced menus payable only by contact-free card.
“Coupled with the adoption of new procedures by airports and the mandatory use of face coverings on board our aircraft, it is clear that flying is going to be different for the next while,” said Peter O’Neill, the chief operations officer at Aer Lingus.
“We want to reassure our customers that, when the time comes and we are travelling once again, Aer Lingus will be ready to take you to your chosen destination as safely as possible,” he said.