Traveler confidence yet to return as aviation sector reels from pandemic

In one of the largest national traveler readiness surveys since the start of the global pandemic, commissioned by The National Tourism Crisis Steering Committee, the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) revealed the findings of the “Travellers’ Readiness to Travel Post Covid-19” survey.

The survey compiled travellers responses data from over 200 KATA Certified travel agents in Kenya to gather insights on the travel habits of travellers and how travel has been impacted by COVID-19 as well as predictions for how those habits will change after the pandemic is over.

Speaking during the report launch, Agnes Mucuha, the Chief Executive of KATA said, “Rebuilding traveller confidence is key in restarting travel and rebuilding the aviation industry as a whole. Adopting the right technology will help make that a reality and it is a step in the right direction for travel industry decision makers.”

“With safety becoming even more important to today’s travellers, there is a clear need for travel agents and the aviation sector players to differentiate themselves in order to encourage travellers back onto travelling,” she said.

The survey, which was conducted between August 2020 and October 2020 in partnership with the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and a joint working team of industry experts from academia and travel practitioners within the country, highlighted that traveller confidence levels had been significantly tempered by concerns over the risks of catching COVID-19 during air travel.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released public opinion research showing the willingness to travel being tempered by concerns over the risks of catching COVID-19 during air travel. The industry’s re-start plans address passenger’s main concerns.

Travelers are taking precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19 with 77% saying that they are washing their hands more frequently, 71% avoiding large meetings and 67% having worn a facemask in public. Some 58% of those surveyed said that they have avoided air travel, with 33% suggesting that they will avoid travel in future as a continued measure to reduce the risk of catching COVID-19.

“People are clearly concerned about COVID-19 when traveling. But they are also reassured by the practical measures being introduced by governments and the industry under the Take-off guidance developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These include mask-wearing, the introduction of contactless technology in travel processes and screening measures.

This tells us that we are on the right track to restoring confidence in travel. But it will take time. To have maximum effect, it is critical that governments deploy these measures globally,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Travelers have not made up their minds about cabin air quality. While 57% of travelers believed that air quality is dangerous, 55% also responded that they understood that it was as clean as the air in a hospital operating theatre. The quality of air in modern aircraft is, in fact, far better than most other enclosed environments. It is exchanged with fresh air every 2-3 minutes, whereas the air in most office buildings is exchanged 2-3 times per hour. Moreover, High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters capture well over 99.999% of germs, including the Coronavirus.

Governments advise to wear a mask (or face covering) when social distancing is not possible, as is the case with public transport.

This aligns with the expert ICAO Take-off guidance. Additionally, while passengers are sitting in close proximity on board, the cabin air flow is from ceiling to floor. This limits the potential spread of viruses or germs backwards or forwards in the cabin. There are several other natural barriers to the transmission of the virus on board, including the forward orientation of passengers (limiting face-to-face interaction), seatbacks that limit transmission from row-to-row, and the limited movement of passengers in the cabin.

There is no requirement for social distancing measures on board the aircraft from highly respected aviation authorities such as the US Federal Aviation Administration, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency or ICAO.