If you plan on flying now or in the near future, you will see significant changes on airlines, especially international airlines. Some airlines are taking extreme measure for safety amidst Covid-19, like Qatar Airways, which is requiring all flight crew to wear Hazmat suits. Passengers are seeing new safety standards on flights, and Turkish Airlines has taken their measures to the next level. In fact, the airline released a 38-point, “guidelines for safe travel” checklist for passengers flying aboard during the pandemic.
Turkish Airlines is leading the way of new safety standards aboard flights. The airline has ensured all areas are covered and also added hygiene experts and hygiene kits as an inflight service. These safety standards are setting a standard for *all* airlines.
Take a look at the new safety standards on flights that could be coming to your preferred airline. If your airline doesn’t meet some of these requirements, they need to try harder to ensure the safety of all customers.
New Turkish Airlines Travel Guidelines (JUNE 2, 2020)
Before The Flight
- Online Check in – Turkish Airlines recommends that passengers complete check-in online via either the Turkish Airlines mobile application or website in order to reduce contact rates.
- Personal mask and hygiene equipment – As part of personal health measures, Turkish recommend passengers wear a mask the moment they step out of their home. Since single use surgical masks should be changed every four hours, passengers must bring extra masks and hygienic hand wipes to last the duration of the journey. Used masks should be put into personal waste bag without touching the front surface of the mask.
- Cabin baggage – In order to minimize physical contact, passengers will only be allowed to take personal and valuable belongings with them in the permitted size (max. 40x30x15 cm and no more than 4 kg.). All other cabin baggage will be received during the check-in process as registered baggage. Unused cabin baggage allowance will be added to your baggage allowance.
- Belongings permitted in the cabin – Only one personal such as laptop bag, purse, camera, umbrella etc. will be permitted inside the cabin. The items carried with you inside the cabin should be max. 40x30x15 cm and no more than 4 kg.
At The Airport
- Mask use – Wearing a mask is obligatory at all points at the airport as of your entrance
- Physical distance— Lines are marked for your safe physical distance. You should keep a physical distance of at least 1.5 meters
- Hand sanitizers – Hand sanitizers are placed at passage points at the airports
- Fever check – Before your flight, your body temperature will be measured at the airport
- Protective panes – Panes are placed at all the counters in our service points, in order to keep a safe service distance between our employees and you
- Equipment for personnel – All personnel at the airport use masks and other necessary personal protective equipment
- No-contact check-in – You can carry out your no-contact check-in and baggage check-in procedures at our counters without exchanging your passport or ID card.
- No-contact self-check-in – If you have a domestic flight, you can perform a no-contact check-in at our kiosks at the airport.
- Automated baggage check-in – If you have acquired your boarding pass beforehand, you can check-in your baggage with no-contact at airports equipped with Automated Baggage Check-In kiosks.
- Passport Control – In order to keep physical distance at passport controls, lines are drawn at 1.5 meters intervals and necessary measures are taken to ensure these are kept to.
Boarding the Aircraft
- Equipment for employees – Before each flight, our cabin crews take a temperature check, and are provided with masks, glasses, gloves, and personal protective equipment for in-flight use.
- Mask use – You must wear a mask during all processes including boarding the aircraft.
- No-contact boarding – Physical distancing rules must be followed while boarding the aircraft. Passengers will be called to the check point in small groups and all controls during boarding will be performed with no-contact.
- Boarding point – Boarding will be carried out via passenger boarding bridges. Necessary physical distancing measures are taken in apron buses, which will be used in exceptional cases.
- Boarding order – In order to minimize crowding in the cabin, the boarding will be performed in order, starting with the last row.
On-board (safety standards on flights on Turkish Airlines flights)
- Thorough Cleaning — After each flight, all contact points in our aircraft including tray tables, armrests, belts, screens, controllers, overhead bins, air vents, reading lamps, side panels, windows, lavatories, partitions, magazine racks, decorative panels and cabinets are thoroughly disinfected by special teams. Our aircraft are disinfected once again by a two-stage special disinfection procedure called fogging upon their arrival at our hub and made ready for their next flight.
- HEPA filters – HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters in our aircraft uses a special filtration system that can remove 99.97% of all particles whose diameter is up to 0.3 microns in the air.
- Air Quality – During our flights, cabin air is constantly cleaned by hospital-standard HEPA filters. With this filtration system, the air is completely renewed about every 3 minutes.
- Clean air-flow – The systems our aircraft equipped with release the clean air inside the cabin through air vents and withdraw it from the lower part of the cabin, sending it to HEPA filters and outside. Thus, the air inside the cabin does not travel horizontally between the seats.
- Hygiene Experts – Hygiene Expert cabin crews will be appointed in our flights, in charge of lavatory disinfection and enforcement of all on-board hygiene and social distancing measures
- Mask Use – Wearing a mask, covering your mouth and nose during the flight is mandatory. You can use a cloth or surgical mask. As single use masks have to be changed every 4 hours, if you are using one, you should keep sufficient number of masks at hand. Used masks should be put into personal waste bag without touching the front surface of the mask.
- Hand sanitizer – There are hand sanitizers in lavatories in all our aircraft.
- Hygiene kit – You will be provided with a “Hygiene Kit” consisting of a mask, an antiseptic tissue and a hand sanitizer. (The kits in short-haul flights include a mask and a antiseptic tissue while the kits in long-haul flights also include a hand sanitizer.)
- Hygiene of Textiles – Textiles like blankets, sleeping kits etc. are cleaned after every flight in professional facilities in high temperatures with special chemicals, that are non-allergenic and approved by international authorities.
- Blanket Service – As part of hygiene measures, blanket service will be provided only on flights of 4 hours or longer.
- Pillow Service – As part of hygiene measures, our pillow service has been removed.
- Publications – As part of hygiene measures, our printed in-flight publications will not be distributed, but you can reach all publications, newspapers, and magazines via PressReader application, and at pressreader.turkishairlines.com 24 hours before and after your flight.
- Headphones Service – We plan to offer single use headphones on all our international flights. If you wish, you can bring your own headphones and use them during the flight.
- In-flight entertainment system – By clicking “About Covid-19” section in our in-flight entertainment system Planet, you can reach videos in 12 languages from reliable sources shared by authorities.
- Companion Application – You can use the “Companion” application in our aircraft with available Wi-Fi, and control remotely the in-flight entertainment system by using your mobile devices.
- Catering – In our meals prepared according to high-hygiene rules, new standards have been set up with different concepts, offering packaged and single use only products, depending on the duration of the flight. To reduce physical contact, only bottled water will be served on flights of less than 2 hours.
Disembarking The Aircraft
- Disembarking operation – Disembarking the aircraft will be performed via passenger boarding bridges. Necessary physical distancing measures are taken in apron buses, which will be used in exceptional cases.
- Disembarkation process – Disembarking the aircraft will be carried out in lines of 10 people with 2-minute waiting intervals, in accordance with the announcement and directions of cabin crew.
- Controlled baggage claim – New regulations have been put in place for baggage claim process to reduce physical contact.
What do you think about the safety standards of flights that Turkish Airlines released? Let us know in the comments below.
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