Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, we now have the new normal of travel, the world of tourism and travel had to shut down for the past few months. Travel companies are planning to slowly reopen their doors in an attempt to recoup the debilitating losses from the pandemic and the way of travel for the foreseeable future is going to change. Time for a new normal of travel in the times of Covid 19.
Turkish Airlines and many others have started sharing plans on the new standards of procedure travelers must abide by once they open their doors for business, the new normal of travel.
Besides the expected requirements to wear masks and limited contact with airport and airline staff, here are things that stood out to me and my concerns across different airline procedures;
- hand luggages can no longer exceed 4 kg which would be difficult for professionals that travel with heavy gadgets.
- a major concern is security of luggages that get checked in, Will airlines cover the full cost of stolen items?
- backpackers that save money by not paying extra to check in luggage will still get the 9-12 kg usually allowed for hand luggage transferred to complimentary check in allowance.
- Food service will only be for flights that fly for over 2 hrs on Turkish Airlines. Some airlines seem to be leaning towards canceling food service completely
- Economy seating arrangement will be spaced out as much as they can afford to in order to maintain a semblance of social distance – not guaranteed.
- No more pillows
- An in flight hygiene monitor/officer to make sure passengers are following the rules aka hygiene cop
- complimentary hygiene pack with wipes, mask, and for flights over 4 hrs, hand sanitizers too
- boarding and disembarking time will most likely double for flights to/from Nigeria as the no-contact system airlines are implementing will be near impossible to apply due to lack of up to date technology at the local airports.
- most other airports already have automated check in kiosks unlike Nigeria ( I remember seeing the machines years ago, but they were removed later…maybe they will make a reappearance in time for this)
- travelers should use online check in system to help reduce their time on the queues
See video for what you need to know: (more article below)
