According to some experts who point to the very few documented cases of in-flight transmission, the chances of catching Covid-19 while on board a flight are actually relatively slim. If new scientific claims are borne out, the perceived heightened risk of boarding an airplane could be unfounded. In one case, about 328 passengers and crew members were tested for coronavirus after it was learned that a March 31 flight from the US to Taiwan had been carrying 12 passengers who were symptomatic at the time. However, all the other passengers tested negative, as did the crew members. And while there have certainly been cases of infected passengers passing the virus on to an airplane's crew or fellow travelers in recent months, the transmission rates are low. A study recently published in medical journal JAMA Network Open found evidence of the possible spread of coronavirus during a four-hour flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt in March. Two passengers developed infections after flying with a group of tourists who had come into contact with an infected hotel manager and also became infected, according to researchers from the Institute for Medical Virology at Goethe University in Frankfurt. The two who may have been infected were seated at the back of the aircraft, directly across the aisle from seven passengers who had unknowingly picked up the virus. One explanation for the apparently low risk level is that the air in modern aircraft cabins is replaced with new fresh air every two to three minutes, and most planes are fitted with air filters designed to trap 99.99% of particles. Meanwhile, various new protocols have been implemented, such as face-coverings for both passengers and crew, which is mandatory on most airlines, temperature screenings, as well as more intensive cabin cleaning and limited movement in the cabin during flight.<br/>
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Low-cost carriersare likely to have an advantage in a price-sensitive and regionally focused air travel market, analysts said. However, one observer cautioned that the benefit can only be enjoyed when demand recovers. The coronavirus pandemic decimated the global tourism market when border restrictions were put in place, and airlines were no exception. The IATA said there is pent-up demand for travel, but consumer confidence is weak because, besides fears over the virus, there are “concerns over job security and rising unemployment.” In such a market, LCCs have an edge over full-service carriers, analysts said. “That, I think is very much the feeling at the moment … Going into next year as well, it’s going to be a price-sensitive market, low-cost carriers do come off a lower base,” said Peter Harbison, chairman emeritus at CAPA Centre for Aviation. He saiud last week that full-service carriers worked when airlines could generate higher revenues so the profit margin was still “sufficiently great.” “The problem we have now is, if an airline is high cost, we’re not going to see the sort of business travel revenue, corporate travel revenue we’ve expected in the past. So the top line starts to become a bit lower,” he said. Shantanu Gangakhedkar of Frost & Sullivan said attractive prices have always been the “primary reason” for the success of low-cost carriers in Asia. Gangakhedkar, an Asia Pacific aerospace and defense consultant, also noted that domestic air routes are opening first, whereas many international travel restrictions remain in place.<br/>
Two recent incidents involving young children who refused to wear face masks show how airlines are struggling to balance safety with compassionate treatment of all their customers during a pandemic. JetBlue forced a woman and her six children off a plane this week when her 2-year-old daughter wouldn’t keep her mask on. “It was horrible, the whole experience was traumatizing,” the mother, Chaya Bruck, said from the airport in Orlando, Florida, where the Brooklyn family was stranded. Last week, a Texas woman said Southwest booted her family off a plane after one of the children, a 3-year-old with autism, refused to wear a mask. Alyssa Sadler said her son became upset because he does not like to have his face touched. All major US airlines have mask rules and have banned at least a couple hundred passengers who have refused to comply. Typically, the violators are adults who argue that there is no government requirement to wear a mask — there isn’t; the FAA has declined to impose one, leaving it up to the airlines. JetBlue and Southwest both require masks for all passengers except those under the age of 2. <br/>
Britain removed Portugal from its COVID-19 quarantine list on Thursday, but said rising infections elsewhere meant travellers arriving from Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago would have to quarantine themselves for two weeks. Transport minister Grant Shapps announced the changes on Twitter - the latest in a series of adjustments on quarantine policy as Britain tries to prevent importing new infections from hotspots overseas. “Data ... shows we can now add Portugal to those countries INCLUDED in Travel Corridors,” he said. Shapps said Britain’s whole travel policy was constantly under review and could change quickly, warning that people should only travel if they were content to quarantine themselves should the rules change during their holiday. Emphasising that point, he also announced Croatia, Austria and Trinidad & Tobago were being added to the quarantine list, and incoming passengers would need to self-isolate for 14-days after they arrive, starting from 0300 GMT on Saturday.<br/>
Rumours are swirling that Argentina’s government might push back its plan to reopen the country to air travel on 1 September, throwing uncertainty around carriers’ plans to resume operations to the country. “We still have 1 September as the official restart… We have not been notified of any changes,” IATA’s Americas vice-president Peter Cerda said Thursday. “We have heard as an industry… that there is a strong possibility that it might be delayed.” He adds that rumours suggest “a possible postponement” to the restart of domestic and international flights to Argentine cities. “We are still waiting for news,” Cerda adds. Before the pandemic, Argentina was Latin America’s fifth-largest air travel market behind Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile, Cirium schedules data shows. But in response to the pandemic, Argentina closed its skies to most commercial air traffic until 1 September. The measures are considered among the most-restrictive in Latin America and have been railed against by IATA. The group has warned that Latin American airlines are suffering dire consequences from travel restrictions. Aeromexico, Colombia’s Avianca and Chile’s LATAM Airlines Group have already filed for bankruptcy court protection.<br/>