Enhanced Domestic Airline Cleaning Procedures Due to COVID-19
Airlines are monitoring the situation and adopting new procedures throughout the entire air process - from check-in to lounges. Here are the most up-to-date policies and procedures for the three major domestic carriers: American, Delta, and United. Also, check out the great video from Delta showcasing many of these procedures such as fogging a plane.
American Airlines
American Airlines passengers are scanning their own boarding passes if they are holding a paper one; if they have it on their phones, they will continue to place their own device on the reader
Enhanced cleaning procedures throughout the airport facilities and aircraft are in place (a second set of safety measures that includes usage of PPE by crews becomes effective May 1st) including but not limited to ticket counters, arrival/departure areas, open lounges and high-touch areas onboard aircrafts
Cleaning measures onboard aircraft includes thorough cleaning of high-touch areas such as seatbelt buckles, armrests, window shades, seatback screens, as well as overhead bins handles and doors
Most American Airlines aircraft are equipped with HEPA air filters (100% of AA’s mainline fleet is HEPA equipped, 74% of AA’s Regional fleet)
American Airlines uses fogging as a method to clean aircrafts on a daily basis (fogging has been in place at the airline for the last three years)
To encourage social distancing, gate agents and flight attendants will be able to proactively reassign seats to create more space between customers. Once boarding is complete (provided there aren’t any aircraft weight or balance restrictions) customers can move to another seat within their ticketed cabin.
American Airlines is distributing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all passengers and crew (this includes masks, wipes or gels) >effective May 1st, all crew will wear gloves and protective masks onboard their aircrafts
American Airlines is blocking 50% of all middle seats and all seats adjacent to flight attendant jump seats on every flight.
Meal service has been modified to minimize interaction within the aircraft cabin
Flagship Dining and Flagship Lounges have been closed until further notice
American Airlines has also temporarily closed most Admirals Club lounges, while still providing front desk customer service at large U.S. airports and London Heathrow. These changes were effective Thursday, March 26.
United
United Airlines resources are used to clean all touchable surfaces on their planes with high-grade disinfectants between flights (including all common surfaces at airport terminals)
United Airlines has added hand sanitizer stations at airport gates, lounges and crew breakrooms
United Airlines is taking planes out of service when CDC informs of any potential infected passengers being onboard (on a previous flight) and follows-up with extensive decontamination procedures on possibly affected aircrafts
United Airlines uses state-of-the art circulation systems onboard aircraft similar to those found at hospitals where high-efficiency HEPA filters remove up to 99.7% of airborne particles onboard
United Airlines is now using electrostatic foggers to disinfect the air and surfaces within their cabins on all international arrivals into their U.S. hubs, Honolulu and Guam. In June, all aircraft will have electrostatic sprays on every one of their departures
Wheelchairs and other airline operated mobility devices are being sanitized after each use
Customers may see flight attendants wearing gloves during service (beverage service will include handing out clean cups on every refill, with flight attendants handing out food to travelers, instead of having a traveler select and take items from a tray; inflight service has been modified to primarily offer pre-packaged foods and sealed beverages, with “buy on Board” suspended
Most United Club and all Polaris Lounge locations are temporarily closed.
Delta
Increased cleaning and wiping down of all check-in facilities (including ticket counters and self-service kiosks and gate agent stations) at least every hour hours within the Delta Airlines environment
Delta has provisional and distributed additional hand sanitizer at all gate stations for customers and airport agents use (additional sanitizer is also available onboard the aircrafts)
As of April 10, new back-to-front boarding process to support social distancing and reduce instances of customers needing to pass by one another (this measure currently in place through June 30)
Flight attendants will distribute a “snack bag” with food, water and wipes on flights greater than 350 miles and wipes only at the boarding door for flights less than 350 miles
Aircraft interiors are fogged with EPA registered disinfectant after every single flight (extensive pre-flight cleaning is in place for high-touch areas)
Face masks are provided onboard and customers are also encouraged to bring their own (on certain locations in Canada and CA, the use of face masks is required)
All non-essential materials have been removed from aircraft seat back pockets (pillows and blankets have been removed from all domestic flights)
Many delta aircraft (including all international widebodies and many narrow 737’s, 757’s, A220’s, A319’, A320’s and A321’s) are equipped with state of-the-art air circulation systems that blend fresh air into the cabin that is purified by an industrial grade HEPA filter, killing 99.999% of viruses, as small as 0.01 micrometers. Coronaviruses, which range from 0.08 to 0.16 micrometers in size, are filtered by the HEPA filter (Delta’s 717’s use 100% fresh outside air)
Delta Crews wipe down common areas like lavatories and galleys using high-grade EPA approved disinfectant
Middle seats are now blocked from selection and complimentary upgrades will be processed at the gate only (still using regular priority listing methods)
Arrival luggage areas are fully cleaned every 4 hours and disinfected after each flight (cleaning frequency has been increased at all common areas within the arrivals section of the airport at Delta operating terminals)
Reduced and consolidated operations are in place at Delta Skyclubs.