From shopping to masks
The restrictions imposed by health authorities around the world have irrevocably changed the expectations of passengers when it comes to air travel. Whether or not safety measures remain in place in the post-COVID era, providing a safe journey will defini
Before the pandemic hit, the passenger experience had already been subject to transformation. Travellers had become more involved in their own journey processes, with commodities such as self-service check-in, resulting in less time spent face-to-face.
However, less human contact with ground workers does not necessarily equal a safer situation. Each checkpoint on a passenger journey can pose a risk as Laphang Chung, Senior Aviation Consultant at To70, pointed out during Air Convention Digital Week 2.0. Various steps in the process can present a threat to the health of travellers; the touchscreen of a check-in kiosk, the plastic tray at airport security, or even the queue while boarding at the gate. There are many factors which, when not taken into consideration, can pose a threat to the wellbeing of travellers. The governmental restrictions imposed on citizens, even outside the airport environment, have created what Chung qualifies as ‘biosecurity alarms’ in passengers. They are now unconsciously able to identify a problematic situation.
The majority of those threats have been thoroughly addressed by the industry. However, those rules imposed on airport authorities are not without consequences. In the past, the different chokepoints in the airport experience were identified as precise stress-inducing zones for a passenger. Yet, in the post-COVID era, stress can now emerge as soon as a traveller steps into the departure hall. Due to the prevalence of warning signs, the imposed pathways, blood tests and thermal screenings, “going through the airport is like going through an obstacle course,” comments Chung.
It is unlikely that the whole arsenal of health measures currently being imposed will remain. However, one harmless and mostly stress-free technology could help keep a valuable level of safety: temperature screening. Whenever admitted into a health service, a temperature check is usually one of the first tests to identify whether a patient is sick or not. Whilst it is not sufficient for a diagnosis, unusual body temperature provides strong evidence that someone is perhaps sick. With the use of thermal cameras, screening of skin temperature can be made several times throughout the journey of a passenger and minimise the risk of a potentially ill person hiding their symptoms with the use of antipyretic medicine.
Whilst passenger experience was previously focused on speed and access to services, the focus for airport operators has been shifted by the crisis. More than purely a governmental requirement, mitigating the risk of contagion is now a matter of gaining back the confidence of travellers in the post-COVID reality.