Flying is safe: British Airways

Source: British Airways. Doyle.

In his first public appearance since being named British Airways' new CEO, Sean Doyle said the airline believes the risk to public health of flying is low after the industry body IATA suggested that since the start of 2020 there have been as few as 44 cases of COVID-19  linked to flights. Over the same period some 1.2 billion passengers have travelled.

Doyle gave the assurance during his keynote address at Airlines 2050: Beyond the Crisis, saying: "The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we are taking every safety measure to keep our customers safe. This is a multifaceted approach and includes minimising contact, sanitising our aircraft from nose to tail and asking customers and crew to wear face masks at all times, unless they have a medical exemption. 

"In the cabin, air is completely replaced every 2 to 3 minutes, passing through HEPA filters which remove microscopic bacteria and virus clusters with over a 99.9 per cent efficiency, equivalent to hospital operating theatre standards." 

He also confirmed that British Airways does not believe quarantine is the long-term solution, saying: "We believe the best way to reassure people is to introduce a reliable and affordable test before flying."

Details:

Watch the video of Doyle's keynote.