DeSantis urges a return to flying

Governor says airplanes are safe during pandemic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged people Friday to get back on airplanes, saying there’s no evidence that COVID-19 spreads in the skies.

“The fact of the matter is the airplanes have just not been vectors where you’ve seen a lot of spread of the coronavirus,” DeSantis said during a discussion with aviation executives at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. “The evidence is the evidence. And I think [flying] is something that is safe for people to do, because people have been doing it.”

The comments represented the governor’s latest attempt to drive people back into normal life — with precautions — and bolster the state’s economy as the number of coronavirus cases falls.

DeSantis has insisted that schools offer the option of in-person learning; he has proclaimed that sporting events are welcome in Florida; and he has reopened many businesses with social distancing recommendations.

The pandemic has been an economic disaster for the state’s aviation industry, with millions of people forgoing air travel and thousands of airline and airport workers laid off.

DeSantis said 8.8 million people traveled from March to June in Florida, down from 24 million during the same period a year earlier.

South Florida has taken a hit, DeSantis said, noting that aviation had supported 156,000 jobs and a $6 billion payroll in the region prior to the pandemic.

“The economic impact is significant, and those are people’s livelihoods that are at stake, so we want to be there for them,” he said.

DeSantis did not explain, however, why 6 feet of social distancing is recommended in most public places but closer distances are acceptable on an airplane.

Many airlines have begun to fill all available seats on their planes because they say that even leaving the middle seat open does not provide 6 feet of space between passengers. All airlines require passengers to wear masks on board, and they stress that air purification on planes makes them safe.

“You have just not seen airlines lead to outbreaks,” DeSantis said. “As we’ve seen outbreaks in a whole variety of areas of American life, air flights just have not been one. So folks should understand that and they should feel comfortable being able to fly.”

José Szapocznik, professor of public health sciences at University of Miami’s medical school, pointed to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about flying and added that extra caution is imperative.

The CDC notes that “most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes. However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and sitting within 6 feet of others, sometimes for hours, may increase your risk of getting COVID-19.”

Szapocznik told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that “travelers need to be particularly careful while at airports, and of course continue to use all precautions in planes.”

“The only thing I would add is that one may not want to take off their masks and eye covers at any time while in the plane,” he said. “If it were me, I would not want to eat or drink during the flight to avoid having to take off the mask and face shield.”

Mark Gale, CEO of aviation at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, stressed that terminals are clean and he hopes the flying public has confidence that they are protected.

“Traveling is safe, and we look forward to our patrons coming back,” Gale said.

The winter tourist season in South Florida typically begins in October, but there has been uncertainty about the effect of the virus.

The airport has closed a large portion of its newly expanded Terminal 1, which is used mainly by Southwest Airlines.

The airport’s businesses also have suffered setbacks, with only 31 of 90 restaurants and retail shops in operation.

Executives from Spirit Airlines of Miramar and JetBlue Airways of New York — two of the airport’s leading carriers in terms of flights and passengers — said their companies are operating under unprecedented financial strains that can’t last indefinitely.

John Bendoraitis, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Spirit, said that while the airline is still committed to building a new headquarters in Dania Beach, it has pushed the project back to 2022.

Although the company has accepted millions in federal assistance under an industry payroll protection plan, he said the airline will be getting smaller after Oct. 1, the date carriers will be permitted to shed workers under agreements with the government. Spirit recently avoided cutting 2,600 of nearly 10,000 workers systemwide by arranging for paid time off, temporary leaves and reduced hours. It has cut its daily flights in and out of the airport by half, from 80 to 40.

And JetBlue, which hasn’t laid off any flight crew members in 20 years, may be getting close to having to make some painful workforce decisions.

“At some point we need demand to come back,” said Nishal Naubatt, general manager of JetBlue’s airport operation.