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Coronavirus: What global travel may look like ahead of a vaccine

By Mal Siret BBC News
* 3 May 2020

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A woman wearing a face mask sunbathes on the beach amid the novel
coronavirus pandemic in California, 25 April 2020 Image copyright Getty
Images Image caption Possible ways of distancing people at beaches
could include separating bathers with plexiglass

Sun loungers separated by plexiglass. Blood tests and sanitiser
spray-downs before flights. These might sound extreme, but they are
real measures some in the travel industry are looking at to keep
holidaymakers feeling safe and comfortable in a post-lockdown world.

It's too early to say when international travel might restart again -
Argentina, for example, has extended flight bans until September and a
UK minister has said he won't be booking a summer holiday anytime soon.

But what will overseas trips look like when they're able to be taken
again?

Here's what you might expect.

The airport

Many airports, including in London, have already introduced measures to
cater for essential travellers based on government guidelines - so they
might sound familiar.

These include between one and two-metre distancing at all times
(excluding people who live together), hand sanitisers distributed
throughout the airport and efforts to spread passengers more evenly
across terminals.

In the US, the Transport Security Administration (TSA) says travellers
should wash their hands for 20 seconds - in accordance with official
guidelines - before and after the security screening process.

But, at Hong Kong International Airport, testing is under way on a
full-body disinfectant device. This, the airport says, can sanitise
users within 40 seconds, using sprays that kill bacteria and viruses on
skin and clothing.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Hong Kong International Airport is
testing a "full-body disinfection" device

The airport is also trialling autonomous cleaning robots that move
around killing microbes by zapping them with ultraviolet light. Similar
[72]robots have been tested in makeshift hospital rooms.

Airports that have electronic check-in kiosks are encouraging
passengers to use them where possible to avoid unnecessary interaction.

Most will display posters that explain guidance measures and
instructions throughout their buildings.

James Thornton, chief executive of Intrepid travel group, says the
process of passing through airports is likely to take longer because of
stricter checks.

"Just as taking out liquids and devices before going through machines
has become the norm, so too will new social distancing guidelines," he
says, adding: "It's possible we'll see the introduction of an immunity
passport."

Earlier this year, several airports announced they were introducing
"thermal detection screening" in efforts to prevent the further spread
of the virus overseas.

However, the procedure divided experts on its effectiveness, as some
people are said to be asymptomatic, and many airports will not be
introducing it.

Some have gone further, though, with Emirates offering passengers rapid
Covid-19 blood tests prior to boarding at Dubai airport terminals.
Emirates says the tests produce results within 10 minutes.

On the plane

As you take your seat, you'll have to picture the usual smiles from the
flight attendants, who will most likely be wearing masks.

You might choose to smile back, but you'll probably be wearing one, too
- as more and more countries recommend their use.

Your mind, meanwhile, should be at ease in the knowledge that most
major airlines will have stepped up their cleaning and sanitation
procedures, leaving your tray table, seat rest and safety belt suitably
disinfected.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The cabin of a domestic US
Delta flight between Minneapolis and Baltimore on 25 April 2020

If you've booked your flight with Korean Air, don't be alarmed if
people appear in the aisle wearing full personal protective equipment
(PPE), as the airline says it plans to issue cabin crew with gowns,
gloves and eye masks.

This might be as good a time as any to appreciate that you won't be
sharing either of your armrests, as most airlines have said that
flights will not be fully booked and middle seats will be kept empty
(at least to begin with).
* [73]How will airlines get flying again?
* [74]12 ways coronavirus could change the way we live

An airline pilot for Tui, who asked to be named only as Christian, said
that while spreading passengers on a plane made sense in respect of
distancing guidelines, it could prove "hugely prohibitive" and costly.

"Losing a third of seats means either that airlines fly at a loss, or
we go back to the good old days when a Paris to Nice return ticket used
to cost £1,000 (€1,145; $1,245) in today's money."

Christian says countries that rely heavily on tourism are already
contacting operators. "I believe that we will see a small restart of
flights to selected destinations towards the end of the season."

At your destination

How does an Italian beach holiday sound? Well, you could find yourself
weaving between tall sheets of plexiglass used to separate sun loungers
as you look for a shady spot in the sand.

"I've seen drawings," says Ulf Sonntag of the Institute for Tourism
Research in Northern Europe, "they are seriously considering this as an
idea in Italy."
Ulf Sonntag
Ulf Sonntag

Nobody has been in this situation before, it's a process where
boundaries are constantly changing.

Ulf Sonntag
Institute for Tourism Research

Mr Sonntag says European destinations are also looking at ways to
manage guests at hotels, including only permitting every other hotel to
open, or every other room within a building to be occupied.

"If the central aim is social distancing, then they have to work with
that. It's not looking like pools can open at Mediterranean resorts,"
he adds.

While restaurants are looking at spreading tables more sparsely, one
Portuguese hotel chain, Vila Gale, said it had been "stocking up on
hand sanitisers" and "drawing up a la carte menus to replace buffets".

Nikolaos Sipsas, a professor of medicine in Athens, agrees that buffet
meals are a big risk, along with pools, bars and beaches.

"I see Greek beaches being sparsely populated, in other words there
will be bathers, but they won't be close to each other. We will not see
the phenomenon of organised beaches with towels right next to each
other," he says.
* [75]I don't want a voucher, what are the rules?
* [76]Can I get a holiday refund and what are my travel rights?

Other European countries have been discussing "tourist corridors" to
connect areas and member states least affected by Covid-19.

Croatia, for example, has already said that it may provide tourists
from the Czech Republic and Slovakia with special access to its beaches
this summer.

Will this change the future of travel for good?

You might not have enjoyed the sound of that hypothetical overseas
holiday. And you're probably not alone. The fact is, more holidays in
future are likely to be taken at home.

"People are likely to be travelling less internationally, what used to
be called a staycation will change, and could become the norm," Andy
Rutherford, founder of UK-based tour operator Fresh Eyes, says.

In the wake of the global pandemic, ship cruises, ski holidays and
long-haul flights could lose their appeal, especially as the focus
returns to green technology and ways to tackle the climate crisis, Mr
Rutherford says. "Our commitment to travel must be based on mutual
respect, solidarity and responsibility."
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Mr Sonntag agrees the pandemic may result in a change of habits:
"Domestic travel might make people realise that you don't always need
to travel so far."

A recent survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
found that 60% of people questioned would wait for two months before
booking flights after the coronavirus is contained - 40% said they
would wait for at least six months.

Boeing, which has cut 10% of its global workforce in response to
Covid-19, has said it does not expect air travel to return to 2019
levels until at least 2023.

IAG, the parent company of British Airways, said it could take "several
years".

Related Topics

* [82]Germany
* [83]Slovakia
* [84]Coronavirus lockdown measures
* [85]Self-isolation
* [86]France
* [87]China
* [88]United States
* [89]Czech Republic
* [90]Hong Kong
* [91]Croatia

Share this story [92]About sharing

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More on this story

* Coronavirus: How will airlines get flying again?
30 April 2020
* Coronavirus: Germany dashes tourism sector's hopes on lockdown
29 April 2020
* Coronavirus and South Korea: How lives changed to beat the virus
30 April 2020

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195. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52499283
196. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52458765