Qantas and Jetstar have announced the roll-out of a series of wellbeing improvements to boost passenger confidence in preparation for domestic travel restrictions easing.
The ‘Fly Well’ programme brings together a number of temporary measures already in use by the Qantas Group, including best-practice medical advice and feedback from customers.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “Safety is absolutely core to how we operate and that applies to new challenges like managing the risk of coronavirus so people can fly with confidence. We’ll continue to work with government and monitor the rollout of these measures closely, which are designed with safety in mind and help people feel comfortable given the new norms that have emerged in response to the Coronavirus crisis.”
Rolling out from 12 June, the key measures at each point of the journey will be:
Pre-flight
- Information sent to all customers before they fly, so they know what to expect.
- Contactless check-in (via online/app) and self-serve bag drop strongly encouraged, including use of Q Bag Tags.
- Hand sanitising stations at departure gates.
- Temporary changes to Qantas Lounges, including increased physical distancing, hand sanitising stations, enhanced disinfection of surfaces and adjustments to food and drink service.
- Working with airports on other safeguards in the terminal, including regular disinfection of security screening points and installing hygiene screens at airline customer service desks, wherever practical.
On board
- Masks provided to all passengers on each flight.
- Enhanced cleaning of aircraft with a disinfectant effective against Coronaviruses, with a focus on high contact areas – seats, seatbelts, overhead lockers, air vents and toilets.
- Sanitising wipes given to all passengers to wipe down seat belts, trays and armrests themselves, if preferred.
- Simplified service and catering to minimise touchpoints for crew and passengers.
- Passengers asked to limit movement around cabin, once seated.
- Sequenced boarding and disembarkation to minimise crowding.
In addition, the air conditioning systems of all Qantas and Jetstar aircraft are already fitted with hospital-grade HEPA filters, which remove 99.9% of all particles including viruses. Air inside the cabin is refreshed on average every five minutes during flight.
The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 are continuously evolving. Our friends at APEX have a dedicated COVID-19 page, which they’ll be updating regularly to help keep you up-to-date on how the novel coronavirus is impacting the aviation industry. Visit the page for the very latest news >>
