More people seem set to travel during Thanksgiving. Despite repeated notices from the Federal government, no one seems to listen. Thus, risking lives more than before. The Transportation Security Administration has reported more than 3 million people traveling across airports across the country this season. Friday, Saturday and Sunday seemed to be the busiest ones. However, the figure is half of the figure recorded last year.
Travel On The Cards In Thanksgiving
Since the steep decline of travelers at the onset of the pandemic, airports had seen losses in the US. However, with Thanksgiving around the corner, figures seem to be rising. TSA Administrator David Pekoske has said that more people will travel on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after that. CDC has been issuing statements of caution, to all the travelers. However, no one is listening.
The agency has recommended celebrating the festival virtually or within the household. However, most of the people are tired of sitting in isolation. They want to breakthrough. CDC, said that those who do not belong to the same household, could infect the others during the celebrations.
The agency has also said, that the virus does not spread on flights. The reason can be delegated to the fact, that the air on flights is specially filtered. However, packed planes may have a different story to tell. Everybody knows, how difficult social distancing is on flights. Sitting within 6 feet of others, puts one at the risk of catching the virus.
Air Travel – Set To Increase Fatalities
CDC has said that air travel also involves close contact, no matter how hard one tries. There is a lot of melee amidst security checks and in terminal buildings. The U.S. is headed towards a figure of 200,000 coronavirus cases in one single day. Deaths are also on the rise. Moreover, the country has just recorded 2,000 deaths last week in one single day. That is a cause for concern.
CDC has strongly recommended wearing masks. Moreover, airlines are also distributing acrylic face shields. Airlines also seem to be taking precautions by offering web check ins to all passengers. Moreover, contactless payments are also encouraged. All airports around the states have taken additional measures to keep the place clean. Daily sanitization drives are also conducted. However, the risk still remains.
Despite COVID-19 warnings, people are not paying any heed. United Airlines has said that it has seen increase in flight cancellations and a drop in bookings. Southwest and American airlines have also reported similar figures. US Airlines is bracing for a busy season. American Airlines is also increasing schedules to accommodate more passengers during Thanksgiving.
Cleaning procedures seem to have taken top spot. CDC is mainly concerned about the large family gatherings during Thanksgiving, and not airline travel. It fears a rapid spread of the disease. The airline industry is not encouraging nor discouraging passengers to fly. It has losses to recover since the lockdown. Each traveler is taking care of his own safety, is what several airlines are saying. CDC is closely monitoring the situation currently.
