by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:58 AM ET, Mon June 22, 2020
A new study revealed the majority of airlines in North America are not using all of the safety guidelines issued by world health organizations in the battle against coronavirus.
Travel industry analytics firm VIDEC found that only 31 percent of North American airlines are using pre-boarding thermal scanning, compared to 88 percent of those in the Middle East and 70 percent of those in Asia Pacific.
The research found that with the exception of Southwest Airlines, most carriers in North America do not require travelers to declare their recent health details, as opposed to more than a third of airlines in Asia Pacific doing so.
"The world around us has changed in the last three months," VIDEC CEO Virendra Jain said. "A prominent question on travelers' mind these days is, how safe is it to travel in the COVID-19 environment?"
"Governments have introduced a flurry of health and safety norms to curb transmission and ensure traveler safety," Jain continued. "While the travel industry has implemented several measures, they vary widely by cities and countries, leaving travelers confused and anxious."
The data was compiled from VIDEC's Safe Travel Barometer, which tracks health and safety measures from hundreds of companies, including 70 airlines on six continents.
To continue the fight against coronavirus, carriers such as Delta have established an internal Global Cleanliness department dedicated to innovating and evolving cleanliness standards.
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