BUSTLING FOR LABOR DAY
Travelers find Columbus airport cleaner, a little emptier this holiday travel season
Paul, of Buford, with his wife, Melissa, and their two sons — 2-year-old Ben and 8-month-old Jonah — were flying to Atlanta to celebrate Melissa’s parents’ 25th wedding anniversary.
Melissa, who had traveled many times before, said she wasn’t quite sure what to expect either. Would the lines be longer? Would the people be crazier?
Thankfully, they said, everything had gone off without a hitch.
“It’s been a little bit different, but nothing crazy,” Melissa said.
Labor Day weekend typically brings thousands of travelers through the Columbus airport, anxious to get in one last trip before the unofficial end to summer.
But like everything else in 2020, this isn’t a typical year.
Airlines have seen a significant decrease in passengers since the coronavirus pandemic prompted stayat-home orders and shutdowns in cities across the country. On April 22, a month after Ohio’s stay-at-home order was issued, the Transportation Security Administration counted 98,968 passengers through its checkpoints nationwide. That number was 2,254,209 a year earlier.
But at noon on the Thursday before Labor Day, John Glenn Columbus International Airport was bustling.
Travelers on their way out of Columbus lined up at ticket counters on specially marked stickers placed six feet apart. TV screens and PA announcements reminded people to socially distance and wash their hands. Everyone from pilots to passengers wore masks.
About 4,000 passengers are departing from Columbus each day on average since July 4th, said Sarah Mcquaide, an airport spokeswoman. Those numbers are down by about a third of its typical traffic this time of year.
But Mcquaide said those numbers have been starting to increase, especially over the holiday weekend.
To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and ease passengers’ minds, John Glenn International has made some updates to its spaces and protocols.
In late August, the airport became the first facility in Columbus, and one of the first airports in the world, to earn the GBAC STAR facility accreditation from The Global Biorisk Advisory Council.
The designation is the cleaning industry’s highest standard for facilities and the GBAC STAR is the only outbreak prevention, response and recovery accreditation for facilities.
In other words, the airport incredibly clean, Mcquaide said.
Face masks are required for everyone traveling through the airport, but for those who might have left them behind, three personal protective equipment vending machines are stationed before the security checkpoints.
Travelers can buy masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, foot covers and thermometers from the machines.
Security checkpoints look mostly the same, except for the enhanced PPE worn by TSA agents. As travelers go through the checkpoint, agents ask passengers to quickly pull down their is masks when checking their IDS. The TSA also is allowing passengers to bring one liquid hand sanitizer container of up to 12 ounces in carry-on bags until further notice, about three times the amount of liquid that’s usually allowed.
Most of the airport’s restaurants are closed for the time being, so Mcquaide recommends people bring their own snacks.
Rachel George was hoping she could grab a bite to eat before she boarded her flight home to Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday. When she couldn’t find anything open in her terminal, she opted for vending machine trail mix.
Still, for her first time flying since the pandemic began, George said she’s been pleasantly surprised.
“Everything felt so much cleaner. You can tell the airports and airlines have made a lot of changes,” George said.
Compared to bigger airports such as Atlanta’s, George said, John Glenn seemed a little empty, but it felt like everyone was working together. shendrix@dispatch.com @sheridan120