fact that the quality of air in a modern aircraft is better than most other enclosed environments. It is exchanged with fresh air every 2-3 minutes, compared to most office buildings, which exchange air 2-3 times per hour. “The feedback has been positive from our guests, as they adjust to the new normal,” says WestJet’s Morgan Bell. “We understand that there will be different levels of comfort or confidence with travel right now and we are doing all we can to ensure that those who are comfortable with it can travel safely and responsibly.” Julie Roberts, an Air Transat flight attendant and president of the Air Transat Component of CUPE, agrees. “For the most part, passengers seem to feel safer with all the new safety measures but, as with anything else, there is always room for improvement. Some passengers remove their masks when they speak to flight attendants, which defeats the purpose of wearing masks. Flight attendants also feel as if it’s falling on them to police passengers to ensure that masks are worn throughout the flight.” While airlines are implementing both blatant and subtle changes for public health and safety, so are the airports. “I haven’t heard about many concerns,” says Daniel Gooch, president of the Canadian Airports Council, representing Canada’s large and regional airports. “Fromwhat I understand, things are going smoothly in Canada when it comes to ensuring traveller health and safety. But when it comes to the business of flying, there is still an urgent problem. There has been very little movement in opening up regulations and travel restrictions and the industry is a bit pessimistic about this changing any time soon, which means that recovery will be delayed even longer. Julie Roberts, Air Transat flight attendant and president of the Air Transat Component of CUPE Daniel Gooch, president of the Canadian Airports Council COVID-19 CSANews | FALL 2020 | 45
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