Airlines stumble ahead with Covid plans that may heighten risks

United and Delta airlines have recently begun boarding flights from the rear to the front in a bid to minimize close contacts between passengers that could spread Covid-19. Yet new research shows it may do just the opposite: US scientists have found boarding planes starting with the back rows increases the time spent by people clustering in aisles to load bags in overhead bins before taking their seats. Boarding procedure is just one example of how airlines are struggling to make flying safe during the pandemic, and lure back passengers. Carriers are also instituting inconsistent policies on leaving middle seats vacant that aren’t backed by science. There are huge gaps in data and research, and the Trump administration has declined to set health-related rules for airlines. “There is an abundance of expert opinions and there is a scarcity of good data,” said Byron Jones, an engineering professor at Kansas State University, one of the small coterie of researchers specializing in cabin air safety. US airlines say they’ve been consulting with disease specialists while rushing to respond to an outbreak that’s prompted billions of dollars in losses. They’ve added increasingly stringent protections in recent months, a trade group said, from extensive disinfection programs to tighter enforcement of now-universal face-mask requirements. Airline chiefs have issued sweeping reassurances to the public, seeking to get people flying again. The US DoT and other agencies in July released guidelines for lowering risks, called Runway to Recovery. Story has more.<br/>