Airline’s recent efforts enhance customer, employee safety during travel

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and other experts to determine best practices for keeping employees and customers safe at airports and onboard aircraft.

In the months that followed, Delta partnered with experts at Mayo Clinic, Emory University, Lysol and Purell to roll out highly effective layers of protection. These included blocking middle seats, mandatory face coverings, a comprehensive employee testing programme and extensive cleaning processes.

Now, numerous independent studies have validated the effectiveness of these measures, which together make up the industry-leading Delta CareStandard.

Here’s a look at some of the latest studies about the safety of air travel during the pandemic:

1. HARVARD UNIVERSITY’S T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The most comprehensive research study to date, Harvard concluded that the layered approach Delta and most other U.S. airlines have taken to protect against the virus means the risk of transmission during air travel is very low. 

The report concludes that the universal use of face masks, diligent cleaning protocols and advanced ventilation and filtration systems offer significant protection against COVID-19. Read the study.

In an earlier technical bulletin that preceded Harvard’s final study, experts suggested that the universal use of masks on aircraft may reduce infection risk from respiratory particles to less than 1 percent. Read the bulletin.

2. INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION (IATA)

IATA reported 44 cases of COVID-19 in which transmission is thought to have been associated with a flight – most of those during the first months of the pandemic. During that period about 1.2 billion passengers travelled by air.  Read IATA’s report.

3. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Air on commercial airplanes is safer than the air circulating in homes or hospital operating rooms, according to a recent study conducted for the U.S. Department of Defense. Read the report.

Read a complete look at all the steps Delta is taking to enhance safety onboard.