Faculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia; Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Faculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
Infect Dis Health. 2021 May;26(2):110-117. doi: 10.1016/j.idh.2020.11.002. Epub 2020 Nov 19.
COVID-19 and its associated travel bans have reduced international passenger traffic by over 80% below 2019 levels. If airlines are to resume flying at commercially sustainable levels, they must work to restore passengers confidence and sense of security. This study examined commercial airline passengers' health concerns and attitudes towards infection prevention and control measures for travel health and safety in the current COVID-19 global pandemic.
A cross-sectional study was conducted inviting adult members of 39 frequent flyer groups across three social media platforms to participate in an online survey.
A total of 205 respondents completed the survey. The majority (75.6%) reported feeling 'somewhat' to 'extremely concerned' about contracting an infectious disease while flying, particularly respiratory-related. Few (9.8%) reported perceiving their health as an 'essential priority' for their preferred airline. Most respondents agreed airlines should provide complimentary hand sanitisers (86.8%), sanitary wipes (82.9%) and masks (64.4%) for passengers to use while flying as well as more information about preventing the spread of infections (90.7%), which would make the majority feel safer to fly.
COVID-19 has extensively challenged the air travel industry. Passengers have signalled that they expect more from airlines, and that they would actively engage in additional infection prevention and disease control measures while flying. Airlines must ensure passengers about the steps taken to minimize travel-associated risks, and their commitment towards passengers' health and wellbeing, in order to rebuild consumers' confidence in the recovery of the air travel industry.
COVID-19 及其相关的旅行禁令使国际客运量减少了 80%以上，远低于 2019 年的水平。如果航空公司要恢复商业上可持续的飞行水平，就必须努力恢复乘客的信心和安全感。本研究调查了商业航空公司乘客对当前 COVID-19 大流行期间旅行健康和安全的感染预防和控制措施的健康关注和态度。
进行了一项横断面研究，邀请三个社交媒体平台上的 39 个常旅客群体的成年成员参与在线调查。
共有 205 名受访者完成了调查。大多数（75.6%）报告说，在飞行时感到“有些”到“非常担心”感染传染病，特别是与呼吸道有关的传染病。只有少数（9.8%）的人表示认为自己的健康是航空公司的“首要任务”。大多数受访者同意航空公司应为乘客在飞行中提供免费的洗手液（86.8%）、卫生湿巾（82.9%）和口罩（64.4%），以及更多关于预防感染传播的信息（90.7%），这将使大多数人感到飞行更安全。
COVID-19 对航空旅行行业构成了广泛挑战。乘客表示，他们对航空公司的期望更高，并且希望在飞行时采取更多的感染预防和疾病控制措施。航空公司必须让乘客了解为尽量减少旅行相关风险而采取的措施，以及他们对乘客健康和福祉的承诺，以重建消费者对航空旅行业复苏的信心。
