Air Canada will block adjacent seats on the plane until the end of June
Air Canada will block nearby economy-class seats on airplanes through June 30 as part of its CleanCare + policy. It aims to reduce the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 while traveling.
Through June 30, every adjacent seat in the Economy cabin will be blocked, with the exception of children under 12 travelling with parents, and travellers under the same booking. One of our Air Canada CleanCare+ protocols onboard every flight. Learn more: https://t.co/KeEVAD9cLk pic.twitter.com/Jalgnnzx5Q
— Air Canada (@AirCanada) June 7, 2020
An exception will be made for children under 12 years of age and for people who bought tickets as part of the same reservation. They will be able to sit next to each other.
Other policy components include checking the temperature before departure by the non-contact method, regularly cleaning surfaces at the airport, treating aircraft with disinfectants before each departure, and wearing the mask on board.
Air Canada also began distributing hygiene kits to passengers for free. These include a mask, gloves, a hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and a bottle of water.
Based on the new policy, from a third to half of all seats will be blocked in economy class planes. For example, four out of 10 seats will be inaccessible in a Boeing 777, three out of nine in a Boeing 787, four out of eight in an Airbus A330, two out of six in an Airbus A320, two out of five in an Airbus A220, and Embraer 175 – two out of four seats.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in its COVID-19 pandemic industry guidelines did not prohibit airlines from selling 100% of the seats but recommended seating passengers if loading and balancing allow it.
