Business Traveler, July/August 2020

J U LY A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 b u s i n e s s t r a v e l e r u s a c o m B I O S E C U R I T Y 5 7 United Airlines will provide facemasks to passengers who arrive at the airport without them and board from back to front United also has partnered with Clorox and the Cleveland Clinic to monitor the efficacy of cleaning procedures used In accordance with clinic guidance United now requires passengers before receiving a boarding pass to complete a Ready to Fly checklist and click or verbally accept including confirmation that they have not experienced COVID 19 related symptoms in the 14 days prior to flying In addition to tightening up on face mask policy Southwest too has launched its own Customer Health Declaration pre boarding form and vowed to keep middle seats empty through September JetBlue has committed to blocking middle seats on larger aircraft and aisle seats on smaller Alaska Airlines provides face masks for passengers In addition through July 31 middle seats on Alaska Airlines are blocked and flights will be capped at 65 percent capacity to allow for extra space between guests not traveling together Amenities also have disappeared in flight No more beverage cart snacks or meals The most passengers can expect onboard is a small bottle of water and perhaps a packaged snack and on shorter flights they wont get even that minimum TAKING IT PERSONALLY Marc Pablo director of quality assurance at California Transplant Services is a business traveler who hasnt been on an airplane since March If its 600 miles or less I drive he notes Ive got to be careful because I am in three high risk groups for coronavirus Im 59 I have diabetes and Im overweight Although he can avoid plane travel he still has to stay overnight in hotels Before Pablo brings his suitcase into the room he diligently runs through a rigorous sanitation routine with his own supply of cleaning products including Lysol liquid and spray an ample roll of paper towels and his own disposable trash bags After cleaning the sleeping area and bathroom he then goes back to his car to fetch his suitcase bringing it in on his own cart and never unpacking He travels with his own bed pillow Because his medical services business retrieves and stores body tissues for living patients in trauma centers he visits hospitals daily Pablo notes that their protocols have changed too To be admitted as a vendor he has to be in the hospitals database set up a timed appointment in advance have his temperature checked on arrival and be screened for all the normal COVID questions Hotels have erected plastic shields at check in desks and put face masks on their staff They tout their efforts at stepping up their cleaning routines to mitigate possible routes of contagion Most have eliminated once expected amenities including that chocolate mint on the pillow the minibar the coffee maker in the room and even paper memo pads pens and guest directories Glasses in the bathroom are now all disposable and television remotes sometimes are encased in plastic bags The push toward eco friendly large bottles of soap and shampoo has been replaced with individual use amenities If pools and exercise rooms are open theyre limited in capacity and cleaned more often Elevator lines have been instituted in larger properties to reduce crowding IMAGES Hand sanitizer is being supplied at airports Southwest emphasis on disinfecting uses both an electrostatic disinfectant and an anti microbial spray on every surface Red Roof Inns promise new RediClean protocols