A look inside the future of air-travel

By tsell on May 11, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – APRIL 29: Passengers take turns to access the check in counter area manned by members of Malaysian police Force in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) Terminal building on April 29, 2020 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AirAsia are resuming its scheduled domestic flights today, commencing with Malaysia followed by Thailand, the Phillipines, India and Indonesia, subject to approval of the authorities. (Photo by Rahman Roslan/Getty Images)

What experts are proposing for the future of air travel, post-pandemic

By Trent Sell

For some, the thought of flying brings on enough stress already. With the global pandemic of COVID-19 affecting every aspect of our lives, it is no surprise that airports and airlines will be making changes. So what does the future of air-travel look like?

Many airports have already begun to implement some of these changes, but more measures will be required for airports to safely open up commercial flights. The pandemic has been called “the new terrorism,” as a result, it’s the biggest crisis the airline industry has faced.

According to Forbes, the entire boarding and check-in process could be different. Experts are estimating up to 4 hours to get through it. This would include sanitation measures for luggage and passengers, social distancing, and spaced-out lines and walkways throughout the airport.

Steps under consideration

Here is a list of some of the major changes being considered. The list includes, “no cabin bags, no lounges, no automatic upgrades, face masks, surgical gloves, self-check-in, self-bag-drop-off, immunity passports, on-the-spot blood tests and sanitation disinfection tunnels.” – Forbes

Digital technologies will be at the forefront of implementing these new ideas. Using technology to reduce the number of “touchpoints” throughout the airport and biometric boarding to allow a person’s face to identify as their passport. Temperature screenings upon departure and arrival could be the new norm. In more extreme measures, some airports like Viena are requiring a blood test before entering into the country. Luckily, those measures are not likely to stay in place forever.

Food and drink refreshments are likely to change in some way during your flight. Some airlines are proposing that food will be eliminated altogether, especially during a long flight.

New York Times Niraj Chokshi summed up his thoughts on airline travel with these words.

“With much of the world closed for business, and no widely available vaccine insight, it may be months, if not years, before airlines operate as many flights as they did before the crisis. Even when people start flying again, the industry could be transformed, much as it was after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”