Domestic airline FlySafair plans to offer social distancing seating options once it resumes flights in the country.
This option would allow passengers to keep the middle seat between them open, at an extra cost. While the airline will fill the window and aisle seats first, passengers can choose to buy this extra ticket to guarantee they will not be seated directly next to someone.
“As a policy, we will fill window and aisle seats before allocating passengers to middle seats but passengers booking on our website can also select our new ‘blocked seat’ option to keep the middle seat in their row free. This option is available for all fare classes booked and costs R750, which is substantially cheaper than buying a second ticket,” VP of Sales and Distribution, Kirby Gordon, told Tourism Update.
This is not the only additional safety measure to be implemented by airlines. Others include:
Mandatory hand cleaning
FlySafair said passengers will now be expected to clean their hands with COVID-19 combatting hand sanitiser as they board their flight. Passengers will be supplied with hand sanitiser for their flight.
Mandatory masks
The airline will give all passengers and staff mandatory sanitised masks to wear on the flight.
No touch boarding
Using no-touch boarding options like the FlySafair app or Whatsapp for boarding passes are encouraged to avoid passing paper between hands. Catering for flights will be stopped and customers encouraged to download digital in-flight magazines.
Disinfectant foggers
Between flights, airplanes will be disinfected using antibacterial and antiviral steriliser.
Temperature checks
Much like during the Swine Flu epidemic, all passengers and staff will have their temperature checked using contactless digital thermometers before boarding. Anyone with a temperature over 38°C will not be allowed to board.
Deep cleaning
Each evening airplanes will undergo a deep cleanse to with a specialised, aviation-grade detergent sanitiser.
According to Gordon, these additional measures are worked into the ticket price, at an addition R20 per flight.
Image: FlySafair/ Twitter
