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The world is under no illusion that air travel could look a whole lot different in the coming months post-COVID-19. But just how different will it get?
Middle plane seats empty
The chief executive of easyJet said when flying restarts after the coronavirus crisis recedes planes are likely to operate with the middle seat empty due to social distancing regulations.
“I’m talking about this as an initial phase. Nobody knows for how long that phase will be,” said EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren.
Commenting on how social distancing on its planes would work, Mr. Lundgren said passengers would sit next to the window or the aisle in a three-seat configuration.
As Reuters reports, the low-cost Hungarian airline Wizz Air has made plans to fly jets only two-thirds full to allow more space between passengers (the airline is also looking into protective gear for passengers, so masks may become the in-flight norm).
Blood tests
Yesterday, we reported that Emirates had changed its health screening process to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The Middle Eastern airline has begun taking blood tests before passengers board aircraft to ensure that they are COVID-free. The airline is the only one in the world to be carrying out this procedure, but others may be tempted. Will this be a new norm?
As far as thinking about pre-flight blood tests go, it all sounds a bit extreme. However, the process is relatively simple. It’s also a relatively quick way to ascertain whether or not a passenger is infectious. For these reasons, pre-flight blood tests look attractive to airlines, and they do a lot to reassure passengers.
The CoronaPass
Another idea floated is that of an immunity passport. These documents would certify that the holder has been infected with coronavirus and has overcome it, having now developed the relevant antibodies to make them immune. It’s an interesting concept that does have legs, but how would airlines use it?
As a long-term strategy for regular service, it’s unclear how the immunity passport would work. However, the certificate, also dubbed the ‘CoronaPass,’ would allow those who have overcome COVID-19 to be some of the first to travel. In the not-too-distant future, therefore, the immunity passport could grant the passage of travel for some citizens.
Will boarding change?
Airlines like GoAir have been asking their passengers to board according to rows. It means that passengers are entering the plane from the back and are seated one row at a time from the front. This practice does require a little bit of effort. However, it’s similar enough to standard boarding practices.
Typically, airlines segregate passengers for boarding, but just not to this extent. If airlines still see the value in practicing social distancing, then seating passengers by rows is an easy enough procedure to perform. As a result, we could see our pattern of boarding change in the future.
Croatia’s Tourism Minister announced that he would speak with the Czech Minister for Regional Development next week in a bid to come to a joint solution to provide conditions for Czech tourists with booked vacations in Croatia to visit this summer.
Following a telephone discussion between Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babiš on the issue, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli informed that he is set to speak with Czech Regional Development Minister Klara Dostalova next week to search for a way to ensure the arrival of Czech tourists in Croatia this summer.
Minister Cappelli noted that tourism also falls within Minister Dostalova’s purview.
“Both of us are determined to find ways of making this happen. And we plan on approaching other interesting markets with similar practices,” Cappelli said.
Issues such as the possibility of re-opening tourist routes and tourism in general after coronavirus protection measures are relaxed will be discussed at the end of April at a major ministerial conference convened by Croatia.
“We will also discuss various models, proposals, and opportunities for gradually resuming normal tourist traffic, including the establishment of tourist corridors, as proposed by the Czechs,” Cappelli said.
The minister added that the ideas, solutions, and conditions for resuming tourism activities agreed to at the meeting with then be conveyed by the ministers to their respective governments.
Czech tourists have always been important to the Croatian tourism sector. They have a long tradition of vacationing on the Croatian coast, even maintaining solid numbers during the years of the Serbian aggression in the 1990s.
They have consistently been among the top ten in terms of tourist arrivals, with almost 800 000 last year alone.
According to Deputy Minister of Health Roman Prymula, the restrictions on travel abroad will probably be eased in the next weeks.
“Slovakia and Croatia are considered as possibilities, but we need an agreement with the respective countries which would have to open their borders to Czech holidaymakers”.
“The Czech government is under pressure to open at least a few holiday “channels” out of the country,” he added.
In mid-June, the situation will be more clear. Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) added that the government will continue to explore the possibility of free travel.
Croatia was the most popular foreign destination for Czechs in 2018. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, 813,000 Czech tourists spent their holidays there.
More than five million Czechs went on holiday abroad last year.
On March 14, the government put a ban on entering the territory of the Czech Republic for all arriving foreigners except for foreigners with permanent or temporary (over 90 day-long) residency in the Czech Republic. All people entering the territory of the Czech Republic are subject to a fourteen-day mandatory quarantine unless stated otherwise, subject to exceptions.
With effect from April 14th, foreigners residing in the Czech Republic, like Czech citizens, are able to travel abroad, with the possibility of returning during the state of emergency.
The purpose of travel must be in accordance with the exceptions to the prohibition of free movement imposed by the Ministry of Health.
It is therefore limited to necessary and justified cases only (e.g. fulfillment of official duties, work abroad, etc.), which will have to be proven individually to the police at border crossings. Diplomatic notice from an embassy is therefore no longer required.
Czech Republic‘s Finance Minister Alena Schillerová proposed the government acquire CSA Czech Airlines, however noting complications may arise due to a minority foreign ownership in SmartWings Group.
Schillerová expects the Ministry of Industry and Trade to prepare an analysis of strategic companies affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
As previously reported by CAPA, Smartwings Group implemented austerity measures to mitigate the financial impact of the drop in demand.
In 2018, 97.74% of Czech Airlines was bought by the privately-owned Smartwings and CSA became a part of the Smartwings Group. The remaining 2.26% of CSA is owned by insurance company Česká Pojišťovna.
CSA is the fifth oldest still operating airline in the world, after Dutch KLM (1919), Colombian Avianca (1919), Australian Qantas (1920), and Soviet/Russian Aeroflot (1923). It was the first airline in the world to fly regular jet-only routes (between Prague and Moscow).
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“Strict quarantine measures will probably last until mid-April. The borders could be closed for months, if not years,” said Roman Prymula to iDnes.
“We are determined to aim at 8,500 (cases), with the limit of 10,000 at which point we want to halt the increase,” Prymula said in a live television debate.
“From this point on, the daily growth in percent should not be as it is now, although we have already managed to lower that a lot. The daily growth should be zero.
“If we manage that, which we expect some time after Easter, we would like to gradually relax the measures, let’s say from mid-April, and return the country to life.”
There were a total of 1,047 confirmed infections in the country as of Sunday morning, with no deaths so far. Nineteen patients are in intensive care.
Traveling can be limited to two years
Both Vojtěch and Prymula agreed that border measures would take a long time. “We cannot afford to have another wave of cases,” the minister said.
According to him, police were instructed to tighten movement measures more. On Monday, the government will consider banning commuters to work in neighboring states.
“We noted that there were cases of coronavirus infection among cross-border workers,” added Vojtěch.