Business Travel after the COVID-19 crisis
One of the main measures countries have adopted to prevent the arrival of new cases of the virus to their territories is the closure of airspace to international passenger flights. In the majority of countries domestic travel has also been suspended to prevent the spreading of the virus within the borders.
But, as the numbers of cases begin to decrease and countries begin to take measures towards the reactivation of their economies, one of the activities that will undoubtedly have to restart is travel. Travel for business, travel for pleasure and travel for familiar reasons will all begin to pick up slowly; only now there’s a new element of risk associated to travel. After September 11, 2001 all efforts were aimed to securing air transportation against terrorism, now countries will have to secure their borders against the spreading of the virus allowing the arrival of international passengers and facilitating mobility at a domestic level.
The way we see it, there will be several layers or filters but everything will begin at home.
While preparing for travel, people must make sure that they have all necessary protective elements in sufficient quantities to last the duration of their trips. But most importantly, go through a personal checkup before leaving, making sure body temperature is within normal ranges and no symptoms associated to the virus are present.
Depending on the destination, there will be different measures taken in all countries to safeguard their nationals. Travelers must be informed of what these measures and make sure they meet all the requirements to make sure their trip can be completed successfully.
At the departure airport there will surely be physical distancing measures and sanitizing procedures which will imply additional time in the ticketing procedure and this will all add time to a process which was already lengthy.
During the boarding of the airplane and for the duration of the flight physical distancing must be kept and protective measures must be worn. This is already a reality in some countries where domestic air travel has been reopened.
Upon arrival to destination there will surely be a whole new set of sanitary procedures and measures that will be taken and they differ from country to country. Once again, it’s important to be prepared for this in advance. Preparation and prevention are both key to making sure you can complete your trip in good health without any obstacles.