The trade association for the world’s major airlines is proposing a range of measures aimed at relaunching the global air travel industry – including, incredibly, an end to in-flight physical distancing rules. A proposal that runs counter to the established policies of Canadian airlines, the Canadian government and the policies of many governments around the globe.

The International Air Transport Association’s roadmap to restarting commercial flights – which have dropped off by more than 95 percent among Canadian carriers due to the COVID-19 pandemic – suggests despite expert medical advice to the contrary, that passenger face coverings have “obviated” the need for social distancing on board, that aircraft seats provide a further barrier to viral transmission and that onboard air filtration systems are equivalent to those at hospital operating theatres.

Really? Aircraft seats provide a barrier to viral transmission? How? Do any of these IATA executives fly anything other first or business class? Or private jets? Have they ever experienced a 17” width or 28” seat pitch? Have they had to share an armrest, or have a seat companion fall asleep on their shoulder?

You can bet the answer is a resounding “No!”

Curiously though IATA doesn’t think social distancing on board is important , they are all for physical distancing through the other  passenger processes at the airport  including queue management.

And, despite their willingness to get you back on their planes with no social distancing, they are nonetheless concerned about your safety should you have to pee. So, IATA backs a ban on washroom lineups to reduce “congregation of passengers” in the cabin. Sanitization of washrooms after each use is, understandably, both impossible and yet potentially dangerous.

However, IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac, maintains, “If we don’t take these first steps in a harmonized way, we will spend many painful years recovering ground that should not have been lost,”

He left out the word ‘economic’ before ‘painful’, but…

Perhaps M. de Juniac can explain that to the people who contact COVID-19 despite the anti-viral seats and the ban on washroom lineups. Or tell that to the families whose loved ones have succumbed to the virus caught on a flight, but what the hell, they’re probably old anyway.

IATA’s other proposed in-flight measures include pre-packaged meals to reduce interaction between passengers and crew and frequent “deep cleaning” of the cabin.

Reducing interaction between passengers and crew does not entail reducing interaction between your seatmate and yourself. To eat your pre-packaged meal your mask comes down.

But even with those precautions – already in place at many airlines – packing passengers into a plane is “really inviting disaster,” said Tim Sly, epidemiologist and professor emeritus at Ryerson University’s School of Public Health.

“That’s bad enough, putting 250 people in an aluminium cigar tube, all elbow to elbow breathing the same air for two, three, four, five, 10 hours,” Sly said in a phone interview.

He conceded modern airplanes have “a heck of a filter system built in,” but said masks alone cannot prevent the on-board spread of COVID-19.

“I think we have to be very, very careful,” he said, “unless the people sit there with almost a hazmat kind of set-up…connected directly to the air supply above.”

Safety and health authorities have stressed physical distancing on land and in the skies since the outbreak began.

Transport Canada listed social distancing among the “key points” in preventing the spread of the virus as part of a guide issued to the aviation industry last month.

“Operators should develop guidance for spacing passengers aboard aircraft when possible to optimize social distancing,” the document states.

Air Canada and WestJet both of which the association counts among its 290-odd members – say their pandemic policies block the sale of adjacent seats in economy class or throughout the entire plane.

“The middle seat on our Boeing 737s and 787 aircraft and every other seat on our Bombardier Q400 has been made unavailable to book to ensure our guests and crew can continue to fly safely and have more space to adhere to social distancing guidelines,” WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell said in an email.

The policy is in place until June 30, “and we will re-evaluate this initiative as required,” she said.

In its proposal – titled Biosecurity for Air Transport: A Roadmap for Restarting Aviation – IATA recommended temperature screening by government staff at airport points of entry before departure and, if required by authorities, upon arrival.

The effectiveness of temperature checks is by now widely disputed, as the virus may still be in an incubation period or manifest only mild symptoms when an individual is scanned.

In fact, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s top public health official, said earlier this month, “The more you actually understand this virus, the more you begin to know that temperature-taking is not effective at all,”

“Even if you are infected, we know that the likelihood of picking up someone who is symptomatic is relatively inefficient,” she said.

Pre-flight measures should aim to reduce contact points and lines – the defining traits of many passengers’ airport experience – through measures such as “redesigned gate areas” and unassisted bag drops with home-printed luggage tags, IATA said.

On arrival, it said, travellers should expect health declarations and automated customs processes that rely on apps and biometric technologies

Dr. Paul Pottinger, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, said face coverings do “the great majority of work” to reduce transmission risk. But “inevitably” some passengers will touch shared armrests or lower their mask to eat, making physical distancing all the more important.

“The proverbial two-metre personal space, that is based on science,” Pottinger said. “It is a layer of protection that I envision for all of us regardless of whether you are squeezed into an aluminum tube or walking down the street – the virus doesn’t care.

“The question, I think, is not one of viruses and infection, it’s one of economics,” he said. “Is that risk small enough that people would be willing to pay a price for in terms of the premium on their ticket?”

IATA estimates that revenues generated by airlines in the Canadian market will fall by $14.6 billion or 43 percent this year as travel remains at a virtual standstill amid border shutdowns and plummeting demand. It remains to be seen however, how soon many travellers, Canadian or otherwise, will take the risk.

 

With files from Canadian Press