Guidance on Advancing COVID-19 Risk Mitigation in Air Travel
COVID-19 presents a risk to travelers and aviation industry personnel, but the multi-layered approach to mitigating that risk advocated by the Foundation in 2020 continues to be a sound strategy for managing the pandemic. Moreover, as a result of the development and distribution of safe and effective vaccines and the advancement of COVID-19 testing capabilities, the risk of COVID-19 can be further reduced. The Foundation’s latest paper details our recommendations on further advancing COVID-19 risk mitigation in air travel.
Reducing the Risk of COVID-19 in Air Travel
As air travel begins to slowly recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic, the aviation industry is implementing a multi-layered mitigation strategy intended to reduce the risk of air travel−related COVID-19 transmission as much as possible. Airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, ground support companies and numerous other organizations are working cooperatively to keep passengers and employees safe and to instill confidence in travelers, health authorities, regulators and governments. The Foundation’s “Multi-Layered Approach to Reducing COVID-19 Risk in Air Travel” outlines the actions that have been taken and the research and development efforts that are underway.
New Norms in Air Travel
All elements of the aviation industry will need to work together to rebuild capacity and consumer and government confidence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of particular importance is the role of passengers in safeguarding their own health, and the health of other travelers and the myriad airline, airport, retail, security, and customs and border personnel they may encounter on their journeys. The Foundation developed New Norms in Air Travel Hygiene Etiquette: The Passenger’s Role in Sustaining a Healthy Environment by distilling advice from multiple sources into a single set of processes that, if followed, may contribute to lowering the risk of COVID-19 infection for everyone involved as air travel gradually resumes.
COVID-19 Safety Roadmap
Pandemic: Non-Medical Operational Safety Aspects, Supplemental Materials is a roadmap that outlines safety-related considerations for professionals in different segments of the industry. It is intended to help safety and operational personnel navigate the pandemic’s impact and to help inform decision-making. It includes hyperlinks to punch lists that can be downloaded and used for tracking progress in accomplishing various tasks. The punch lists also can be downloaded below.
Managing the Pandemic Webinar Series
Flight Safety Foundation is hosting a series of international webinars to help the aviation community navigate the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the day when operations begin to return to normal. Each webinar features experts from the broad international aviation community addressing operational safety concerns and pressing coronavirus-related issues. Past webinars are available for viewing on the Foundation YouTube channel.
Safety Punch Lists
Below are links to a series of Safety Punch Lists that can be downloaded individually. The punch lists cover three broad areas: the safety aspects of continued operations, of reduced/ceased operations and of re-establishing operations. Within each broad area are general considerations and human factors-related items followed by considerations targeted specifically at different functional areas: flight operations, air traffic services, airports, MRO/maintenance, ground operations, manufactures and regulators.
An Aviation Professional’s Guide to Wellbeing
An Aviation Professional’s Guide to Wellbeing was developed by Flight Safety Foundation members, academic researchers and aviation professionals from across the industry. The Foundation published this document as part of its broader effort to help the industry cope with the personal and professional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our industry works well because of the efforts of all the people involved and it is important to the industry’s future for all of us to be as healthy mentally, physically and emotionally as possible. Working together we will prevail.
Additional Resources
Coronavirus-related safety bullletins, guidance materials and contingency planning documents are available on SKYbrary. The resources are updated as new or revised material is issued. Click here for more information.
Numerous organizations also are maintaining regularly updated web pages dedicated to disseminating novel coronavirus and COVID-19 materials. A sampling of those sites is listed below. More web-based resources are available through SKYbrary.
World Health Organization
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
International Civil Aviation Organization
Federal Aviation Administration
European Union Aviation Safety Agency
ICAO CAPSCA