Which Airlines Are Taking the Most COVID-19 Precautions?

The commercial airline industry has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19, because travelers have been hesitant to hop on a plane and risk infection. Among other concerns noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, air travel requires not only time packed in security lines and airport terminals but on planes, where physical distancing can be challenging. With all this in mind, travel tech company Pilota recently launched FlySafe, a browser extension that shows travelers which safety precautions are being taken on flights. At Cheapism's request, the company ranked U.S. airlines on several key measures as of July 19, from worst to best. (There were several ties.)

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Frontier is the U.S. airline taking the fewest precautions.

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies

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The airlines ranked fourth are also reducing touch points during food preparation and distribution.

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene

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Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene

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The third-place airlines are providing personal protective equipment such as masks for passengers who don't bring their own.

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• PPE provided

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Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• PPE provided

Hawaiian is not providing PPE but is capping flight capacity and blocking off seats to avoid overcrowding and increase the distance between passengers.

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• Capacity capping
• Seat blocking

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The top-ranked airlines are taking the most precautions to reduce the spread of coronavirus infection.

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• PPE provided
• Capacity capping
• Seat blocking

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• PPE provided
• Capacity capping
• Seat blocking

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Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• PPE provided
• Capacity capping
• Seat blocking

Safety Measures:

• Mask required
• Physical distancing during check-in and boarding
• Fewer touch points and interactions with gate staff during boarding
• Surgical-grade HEPA air filtration
• Cabin sanitization
• Flexible change/cancellation policies
• Food hygiene
• PPE provided
• Capacity capping
• Seat blocking

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