After a massive drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, air travel is slowly picking up across the country. Delta Air Lines, one of the largest airliners at Boston's Logan Airport, wants passengers to know the steps they're taking to keep passengers and crew safe.
The airline says it will continue blocking off the middle seat on aircraft despite other airlines ending the practice this month.
"The reason Delta chose not to fill the middle seat: we listened to our customers," said Henry Kuykendall, Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, Northeast.
Delta also says they are sanitizing every flight using an electrostatic sprayer.
"We are doing every single airplane. We're not doing one out of five or two out of five. We're doing every single airplane," Kuykendall said.
When passengers first approach the ticket counter inside Logan they will be greeted with care kits that include sanitizing wipes and a face mask. Plexiglass was installed at the counter and there are social distance markers on the floor.
Once they get to the gate, Delta officials say they will board passengers from back to front and only allow 10 people in line at a time. Onboard snacks are now served in sealable bags.
All employees are screened before their workday, which includes a temperature check, the airline said.
"We disinfect the whole station," Delta customer service agent Melanie Rodriguez said. "The computers, scanners and printers."
Kuykendall said Delta will not be filling up their planes until at least the end of September.
While the number of Delta flights at Logan have gone up from single digits in April, the airline said they are still a long way from their peak schedule of 130 flights a day.
"It’s just going to be a slow road," Kuykendall said. "We do see the recovery being 1 to 3 years. We're ready to fly."
