In the wake of the coronavirus-induced closure, the United States has finally reopened. As if that wasn’t enough to make you want to get out of the house for a while, there’s a new normal in airplane travel to be prepared for this summer.
According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with security lines, congested airports, and crowded aircraft, air travel makes social distance difficult because the air on planes circulates and filters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises people to avoid any overseas travel unless it is necessary, and even local travel raises the risk of contracting and transmitting the virus.
If you must fly, airlines have adjusted to the CDC’s recommendations. All airlines require face masks from the airlines we mentioned, and we’ve included specifics on when you need them. When flying, it’s advisable to have your cover (or scarf or bandana), but some airlines provide limited supply if you forget. Each airport enforces its restrictions.
The Transportation Security Administration now allows passengers to carry one 12-ounce liquid hand sanitizer bottle in their carry-on luggage. Bring some hand sanitizer along with you.
More and more airlines are putting up placards and floor decals reminding passengers of the six-foot-apart restriction. Back-to-front boarding, small groups, or consumers being allowed to board after the flight are some of the new methods used by the airlines mentioned below (some have more than one of these processes in place). All of these airlines have cut down on their food and beverage offerings.
This summer, you may anticipate the following from all of the big airlines:
Airlines such as Alaska Airlines
In addition to bringing your sanitizer. The airline will provide passengers with individual hand sanitizer wipes and more hand-sanitizing stations at the check-in lobbies and gate areas. Except for the D Concourse lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, all of the company’s lounges are now closed.
Passengers on Alaska Airlines will now board in smaller groups from the plane’s rear to the front, as many other airlines have done.
If you want to sit in the plane’s center, you won’t be able to until July, when flights will be limited to 65 percent occupancy. To ensure that you and your loved ones get to sit together, you may make a reservation in advance or at the airport while flying with your loved ones.
When flying less than 350 miles, there will be no food or beverage service, but if you’re in first or premium class, you may have a sealed can of beer in addition to your water bottle.
People above the age of 12 must wear masks in all areas where social distance cannot be maintained, including boarding gates and loading ramps and stairs, and on the plane except for a while eating food or drink at baggage claim and in the check-in area.
Flights by US Airways
American Airlines is putting up shields at the ticket counters, rotating the workstations of its workers, and shutting off certain kiosks to provide a barrier of separation between them.
Some of the airline’s clubs and lounges have been temporarily shuttered. Guests may use their cards or boarding tickets to get entry to those still open. Foot-operated devices are also placed in specific bathrooms so that patrons may avoid touch.
Gate agents are also reassigning seats on select flights when time permits, allowing for additional room on the plane. The duration of the trip will determine how much food and drink is available in the main cabins. Water, canned beverages, and juice will only be given upon request for flights under 900 miles, for example, and snacks or alcohol will not be provided. Pets will no longer be accepted by American Airlines for the time being (although carry-on pets, service, and emotional support animals are still allowed).
Exceptions include tiny children and those with medical conditions that restrict them from wearing face masks on American Airlines flights. Before boarding the aircraft, you must put on the facial covering.
For flights planned between March 1 and September 30, 2020, or purchased on or before June 30, 2020, there is no price for one modification or cancellation and rebooking. On the other hand, you must finish your new journey before December 31, 2021. To get a refund from the airline, you must have purchased your ticket for at least two days.
Flights by Delta
Delta’s counters at the airport that have an agent on duty now have plexiglass shields. All ticket counters, boarding gates, assistance desks, baggage service agents, and lounges will have hand sanitizer available. Amenity kits with hand sanitizer and cleansing towelettes are also available for foreign long-haul flights.
Delta is also limiting the number of seats in its cabins until September 30 by blocking center seats and regulating the number of seats available. Fifty percent of first-class seats, 60 percent of Delta Comfort+ and Delta Premium Select, and 75 percent of Delta One seats. The carrier will also block some aisle seats on two-by-two-seater planes.
Delta’s local and international flights now have improved food and beverage options. For example, individual bottled water will be the sole beverage offered on domestic and short-haul international flights.
Customers traveling with Delta must wear face masks, including check-in, Delta Sky Clubs, boarding gates, jet bridges, and aboard the aircraft, except for food service, when they are not obliged to do so. Children and people with medical conditions that make it difficult to wear a face mask are excluded.
For a year from the date of purchase, you may modify any flight bought between March 1 and June 30 of 2020 without incurring a cost. Up to 24 hours after purchasing a ticket, you may cancel your trip on the Delta app or website without penalty and get a full refund.
Flights operated by Frontier Airlines.
All Frontier passengers and crew members will now be subjected to a pre-flight temperature check using touchless thermometers.
It’s possible to receive a second check if your temperature is 100.4 degrees. Unless the temperature drops below 100.4 degrees, you will not be permitted to fly (the same goes for employees).
Just a few beverage options are available for purchase on the airline’s website.
Passengers traveling on Frontier must wear a mask at the ticket office, at the gate, and on the plane. Very small children, who cannot keep a face covering on, are exempt from this rule.
A one-time adjustment to travel arrangements will be authorized for bookings booked between March 10 and April 15, 2020, with no additional fees. You have until September 12th, 2021, to fulfill your vacation plans, either by taking a cheaper flight or paying the difference in price for a more costly one.
Alternatively, you may cancel the flight for free and use the ticket’s value against a future trip booked within 90 days of cancellation. When a flight is altered or canceled more than 60 days before takeoff, the airline usually doesn’t charge a change or cancellation fee.
A trusted Debt Help suggests that there is a $79 price for individuals who modify or cancel their plans 59 days or more before their flight and a $119 fee for those who do so fewer than 13 days before their scheduled departure.
A subsidiary of American Airlines
JetBlue is also restricting the number of seats available for purchase; center seats on bigger planes and most aisle seats on smaller aircraft are now unavailable.
After boarding, you won’t be able to enjoy all of the food and beverage options you’re used to. Pre-sealed packs of food and beverages have replaced the traditional snack basket and beverage cart in budget cabins.
With JetBlue’s Mint offering, pre-packaged fresh meals and single-serving drinks will be accessible to passengers (with single-use cups instead of glassware and mugs). No more complimentary in-flight snacks on specific trips. Alcohol, pillows, blankets, and headphones are among the other items once available for purchase aboard the aircraft, but they are no longer available.
On certain planes, passengers will be able to avoid touching the displays by using their phones as remote controls for the in-flight entertainment system, which is still accessible.
The airline’s mask policy calls for passengers to wear masks, including while checking in, boarding, in the air, and disembarking. Small children are not included.
As part of its refund policy, JetBlue allows customers to make changes and cancel flights that were booked before June 30. The cost difference may apply if you decide to rebook another flight. Cancellations are subject to a two-year grace period during which you will be issued travel credits.
Flights are operated by Southwest Airlines.
To encourage passengers to spread out, Southwest restricts boarding to just ten people at a time and only on one side of its boarding poles.
Southwest Airlines’ communications director, Ro Hawthorne, said the company will continue to operate with around one-third of available tickets on every aircraft until at least the end of July. If you’re flying as a group, you’ll still be able to sit together in the middle seats until at least July 31.
When cans of water and a snack mix are available, passengers will be supplied with straws and cups and ice on flights of more than 250 kilometers. The food and beverage service is still halted on all other flights.
Policy: Passengers must hide their faces whenever they interact with an airline staff or other customers. This includes at check-in and boarding, as well as throughout flight and explanation. You must put it back on as quickly as possible if you take it off to eat or drink. There are exceptions for people under 18, those with a handicap, and those unable to inhale correctly.
Southwest doesn’t charge fees to make adjustments or cancel. Cancel a nonrefundable ticket, and the money will be available for future use. You may use it until September 7, 2022, if you booked a nonrefundable price for travel between March 1 and September 7, 2020. The expiry date has been extended.
Spirit Airways
All check-in desks will have social-distancing indications, and Spirit is encouraging travelers to use kiosks to tag and drop off their luggage.
Passengers may now scan their boarding credentials rather than hand them over to gate staff. After the boarding procedure, the airline allows people to get on the aircraft if they are still uneasy.
There will be a limited supply of beverages and snacks available for purchase.
Passengers on Spirit Airlines must wear face masks at the airport and onboard the plane. Children who cannot keep a face-covering excepted from the ban.
Change and cancellation costs will be waived for bookings made by June 30, 2020. You’ll get a credit for the whole purchase amount of the reservation. Changes and cancellations made within 24 hours of booking are generally accessible for bookings booked seven days or more before the specified departure date.
U.S. airlines
There is a six-foot limitation for United Airlines ticket counters, and touchless check-in machines are being used in several airports.
The airline is already offering clients the option of rebooking on a different route or receiving a travel credit on flights expected to be more than 70 percent full until June 30.
At boarding, United will supply passengers with antibacterial hand wipes. On-board meals and drinks are now pre-packaged and sealed, with no hot towel service or on-board food menus.
United Airlines’ mask policy mandates that all passengers cover their faces throughout the flight, except those eating or drinking. Small children and anyone with medical conditions or disabilities preventing them from donning a facial covering are excluded from the rule.
