How Often Should You Change Your Cabin Air Filter

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The far-reaching effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic took a cost on almost every manufacture imaginable, just the travel industry was hitting particularly difficult. With travel bans and shelter-in-place directives limiting folks' ability to fly, airlines began canceling a record number of flights equally the number of people traveling by air dropped sharply. Co-ordinate to The New York Times, the number of commercial flights had, in August of 2020, dropped by 43% of what they'd been pre-pandemic, but to some experts this was crusade for celebration. They considered this the "best figure" since March of 2020 — and since the 77% drop in flights that occurred in April of that yr.

Needless to say, the once-booming aviation industry was hit difficult by the pandemic. So hard, in fact, the industry received $54 billion in bailout money from Congress — and it took more than than a year from the beginning of the pandemic for fifty-fifty one airline to begin posting profits again.

Since restrictions began lifting and the COVID-19 vaccines became available to most of the U.S. population, it became evident that people were itching to fly the friendly skies again, with NPR reporting that, in just over a twelvemonth since the pandemic began, air travel had risen back up to pre-pandemic levels. What's also get clear is that we shouldn't expect things to simply "get back to normal," no matter how much nosotros might desire them to. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that there's no going back, menstruum — in that location's merely going to be a new normal to adapt to, and for airports, airlines and passengers, this new normal probable means new rules.

COVID-19 Began Changing Air Travel Virtually Immediately

For those who withal needed to travel when the pandemic get-go hit, airlines enacted fairly drastic changes, all in the name of prophylactic and, of course, to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. For example, JetBlue, known for having a catch-and-go snack closet on most of its flights, suspended beverage and snack service, while airlines like Delta blocked off heart seats, started boarding the planes back to front and simply allowed x passengers to board at a given time to maintain social distancing. Speaking of social distancing, most big-name airlines capped their occupancies at around 50% — non that flights were selling out anyway — to brand more room for passengers to spread out and maintain safe distances from one another.

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Still, it'southward difficult to predict how cross-country and interstate travel will continue to be impacted. By May of 2021, all major airlines had officially ended their social distancing requirements and stopped blocking off middle seats. Mask mandates weren't lifted, withal, which begs the question, "How strict will airlines become when it comes to practicing social distancing in the well-nigh time to come?" In the aftermath of September xi, air travel changed drastically in the United States. From bulletproof cockpit doors and stricter ID guidelines to the creation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the aviation manufacture and other powers that be reshaped not simply how nosotros travel but also our perception of travel. The COVID-nineteen pandemic stands to do the same, perhaps to a lesser caste.

Scott Duncan, a partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, was interviewed by Faddy and asked how things, particularly airports, might change from a design perspective. 1 of Duncan's projects, a high-rise in Wuhan, Communist china, brought to light the fact that elements like ventilation, sunlight and light-green spaces take all become higher-priority features. "Outdoor spaces are going from 'Oh, this is prissy to take' to 'It'south a genuine assiduities and maybe a necessity to travel,'" Duncan told Vogue.

While redesigning or revamping airports in a thoughtful way is likely on the horizon, there are other safe considerations that the pandemic caused facilities and companies to implement more quickly. For example, United began testing touchless kiosks so customers could print tags and check bags without existence exposed to germs unnecessarily; Southwest installed plastic shields at ticket counters and gates to protect their workers; and some airlines, similar Frontier, started taking passengers' temperatures. Ahead of the eventual travel uptick, the U.S. travel industry released guidance for "Travel in the New Normal" so airlines could stay on the same page beyond the board when it came to emerging sanitation and other protective measures.

What Farther Changes Tin We Wait When It Comes to Traveling in the "New Normal"?

In addition to taking temperatures and installing plastic shields, airlines can be expected to do everything in their power to uphold social distancing standards. Regardless of how various states reacted — some began loosening or eliminating guidelines and lockdowns very early, while others kept things fairly rigid until larger segments of their populations had been vaccinated — there remains a need for airlines need to err on the side of caution. Fifty-fifty as demand for flights has begun to increase, airlines even so need to earn consumers' trust, and that means practicing an abundance of caution.

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Another way to win over audiences? Flexible cancellation and rebooking policies. Having the ability to change travel plans was key during the pandemic, and it remain this way in our post-COVID-19 earth. Nigh airlines allowed passengers to rebook flights and travel plans that were impacted past the pandemic, no questions asked, and even extended miles benefits into the side by side calendar year. Here's hoping that mentality sticks effectually.

In addition to lower cabin capacities, we're hoping airlines might rethink their decision to reopen middle seats to continue to let for mile-high social distancing. Aviointeriors, an Italian company, has an interesting solution in the "Janus" seat — a backwards center seat that's surrounded on three sides by shields to allow for "maximum isolation between passengers," or so its press release states. Adopting new motel interior design features would, of course, take time. For now, leaving centre seats empty (as much equally possible) and requiring face coverings is an easier solution, and near airlines are still requiring passengers to mask up if they want to board their flights.

Another things we'd love to run into? A more than widespread use of temperature checks, pre-packaged meals, fewer (if whatever) touchscreen kiosks and boarding policies that limit how many passengers can congregate near the gate. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, flying had its stress factors, but here's hoping that the aviation industry pulls together to put passengers' and workers' safety first far into the futurity.