As COVID-19 Cases INCREASE, Airline Regulations Decrease
The holidays are often associated with global travel. Several airline companies, such as United Airlines and JetBlue airlines, are reconsidering social distancing approaches as this significant holiday season is only around the corner.
COVID-19 did not only impact the social life of people worldwide; however, many large businesses, specifically the airline industry, lost millions of dollars in potential sales this year. As the nation started to reopen after quarantine, many airlines continued to adopt social distancing on flights where they excluded the middle seat from consumer purchasing.
“Planes should still be social distancing and taking health risks more seriously,” said Jack Williams, junior.
Last month, the President of JetBlue announced that it is “not sustainable” for airlines to continue to social distance anymore. In light of the upcoming holidays, flights would reopen the cabin middle seat for purchasing starting on Dec. 1. COVID-19 cases have started to pop-up again in the United States, which draws questions about the safety of reopening the middle cabin seat on airlines.
College students traveling home from different states for the holiday break are worried about being safe when flying due to the guidelines and social-distancing regulations on airlines.
“At the beginning of the year when I had to fly back to Florida for the first time after COVID-19, I was very scared and skeptical to walk into the airport and to get on a flight due to the scary virus of COVID-19,” said Victoria Nappolitano, junior.
Some people had thought that airplanes took excellent precautions, and others had their own opinions and felt that planes did not have social distance in the slightest.
“I thought JetBlue took really good precautions. I felt very safe in my seat as when we got off the plane, they were sanitizing and wiping everything,” said Alyssa Aviles, junior.
