The sudden epidemic situation makes the whole industry in a severe winter,and many airlines go bankrupt.
Airlines all over the world are facing a thorny problem:in the air transport industry,how to reduce the cost and reduce the risk of covid-19?
As the flight schedule increased again,Southwest Airlines decided to reduce cleaning procedures to minimize turnaround time and economic losses.
The news came from an internal memo sent to Southwest Airlines employees,which said the armrests and seat belts would no longer be cleaned between flights and that flight attendants would focus on high contact areas such as toilets and tray tables.
"These areas are the most important clean areas between flights because they are more likely to be contaminated,"the memo said.However,the company stressed that it would still thoroughly clean the nose to tail of the aircraft overnight,with each cleaning time of 6 to 7 hours
In addition,the company will carry out a monthly electrostatic cleaning,which it claims will produce a"antibacterial coating"on all aircraft surfaces for 30 days.
Southwest said it would also provide disinfectant wipes to wipe any surface at the customer's request,and the airline continued to keep the middle seat free,a policy that has been abandoned by some airlines,such as American Airlines.
Reducing its cleaning schedule will allow southwest to focus on getting the aircraft into operation as soon as possible,a key indicator of cost reduction.The longer the aircraft is on the ground,the fewer flights and the lower the profit.
Southwest Airlines,in particular,shortened the standard 60 minute turnaround time to 10 minutes in the 1970s.After increasing profits in the early years,it is known for its fast turnover.
However,the current financial situation of Southwest Airlines is precarious.In its latest financial report,revenue fell 83%compared with the same period in 2019,with an overall loss of$915 million.
These figures are broadly in line with peers such as US airlines(revenue down 86%)and Delta Airlines(revenue down 87%).
With the increase of flight volume,it is necessary to make the aircraft return to operation quickly in order to reverse these losses and avoid the imminent threat of layoffs.
Although it may seem irresponsible to reduce cleaning time during a global pandemic,some experts believe that surface disinfection is actually a kind of"health theater",which contributes to a sense of security more than actually reducing the risk of epidemics.
As a recent report in the Atlantic Monthly pointed out,scientists believe that covid-19 is mainly airborne,and it seems very rare to transmit covid-19 from the surface of doorknobs,mail,food delivery packages and subway handrails.
Other scientists have pointed out that aircraft may even be a relatively safe environment in terms of air transmission,because they strictly control airflow.
According to a recent report in the financial times,the air in an aircraft cabin can be completely replaced in just three or four minutes,compared with 20 to 30 minutes in a similar space on the ground.