Flights free of Covid19: The Solution
In these days that we live, with the appearance of an unexpected element, all our passion for travel, flights or tourism has collapsed at once. Big companies such as IAG, Lufthansa, KLM, Delta, and so many others see their airplanes stay on the ground, and we, the travel lovers, see how we are prevented from doing so. Billions of Euros and Dollars lost anywhere in the world, hundreds of thousands of workers at home waiting for a solution, and millions of people around the world who see their holidays and their love of travelling in danger; in short, their Freedom is being put in serious danger!
The Solution
It is not easy to find a solution that suits all parties, but each of us must put something of our own to solve this problem.
The solution is that all travelers who go to the boarding gate area do so with the results of a Coronavirus Rapid Test just done at the airport.
As simple and as complicated as this.
The methodology is very simple, and we will explain it in the following lines.
The Travellers
Passengers will have to go to the company’s check-in desk 1 hour before the usual time for a quick test before taking their flights. By providing the flight details, or by presenting the provisional boarding card downloaded from internet, we will have a quick test carried out by the airline’s staff or by the person designated by the airline.
Within 1 hour, the passenger will pass through the check-in desk again to confirm if the test is negative, in which case the definitive boarding card will be processed and the passenger will be authorised to fly, getting a free mask to use until arrival at the destination.
In the case of the test is positive, you will not be allowed to fly, and your details will be provided to the relevant Health Department so that the established prevention measures can be applied to you, and your contacts can be traced. (but this is another collateral aspect, which can also be very useful).
Boarding Pass
The boarding pass will suffer a slight variation, and it will carry a green stamp with the number of the test carried out, and the time when the result has been confirmed.
This pass will be presented at the access gate to passengers area, to authorize the cross to the security controls.
This card will be requested again at the boarding gate, to verify that no passenger enters the aircraft without the test approval.
It must be kept during the whole trip, because for the access to the country (or city) of destination, it will be requested again to go in.
In this case, the Police, or whoever it designates, will take a photo or scan the boarding card + ID + telephone, email and address of stay.
On the plane you should complete a simple form where you must indicate your name, flight number, seat, test number, time of test results, contact telephone, email and destination address.
Departure lounge
Once you have passed the Security Arc, the airport has to guarantee that you enter in a «Virus Free Zone«, where only travellers with their boarding pass that certifies a negative test result have access.
Security controls must include an ozone tunnel, or similar to disinfect hand luggage, and the passenger’s footwear must also be disinfected before entering the «safe» zone.
However, this area must follow the protocol for disinfecting public spaces, and all personnel, including travelers, must remain with a mask.
As an extra safety measure, and at the discretion of the airport authority, staff working in this lounge should pass quick tests at the beginning of their working day to ensure that no travellers can be infected.
Once boarding begins, the staff will request the boarding pass again, checking their hand luggage, and giving the passenger access to the plane.
The Aircraft
The aircraft will be disinfected before each flight so that the passage is kept in a virus-free zone.
Modern aircrafts have a cabin air recirculation system that guarantees the filtering of bacteria and viruses, even smaller than the coronavirus, so that the air you breathe is also guaranteed. It is clear that aircrafts without this system will not be able to fly until it will be included.
However, passengers, all crew members and support staff must wear their masks throughout the flight as an extra safety measure.
Destination Airport
And we have already achieved our goal: to fly safely!
The destination airport must maintain landing and baggage claim areas that meet the same standards as the boarding hall at the airport of origin; disinfected, protected personnel, …
At the exit of this lounge, there must be a police control that will request the boarding pass with the stamp that certifies that we have done a COVID test before taking the plane with a negative result, that we have flown in safe conditions, and that therefore we will access the country or city free of Coronavirus. In this control, they’ll scan or take a picture of the boarding card, together with the identity card, and the form filled in the plane with basic data (phone, address, email) to locate the passenger if necessary.
All these procedures should be more than enough to allow travelers to fly from one country to another or from one city to another and not require quarantines or other procedures harmful to travel, tourism and freedom of people.
The importance of finding a viable solution
The most urgent thing now is to find a quick and effective solution that allows us to fly safely and that changes the minds of countries and politicians so that they do not put unnecessary obstacles or quarantines to air travelers, allowing the recovery of a basic sector for the economy of countries, as is tourism, and especially before the holiday period for excellence, which is the summer.
Let’s not forget that in countries like Spain, tourism represents more than 12.5% of the GDP, which translated into millions is more than 152,000 million Euros.
And not only this; more than 3 million jobs depend directly on tourism, and so many indirectly.
Let us think about their jobs, their families, ourselves. Any solution is not enough to save this sector, which definitely deserves it.
Contact
This study is being sent to all the media, airlines and organizations involved in tourism and health.
If you require more information or wish to contact me for further information or request my collaboration, you can do so at covid19@viajesbajo100.com.
Thank you very much for your attention.