This was published 3 years ago
COVID-19: Coronavirus biosecurity measures to set airfares soaring
Airfares are set to soar as airlines and airports pass on the costs of implementing new biosecurity measures following the coronavirus pandemic.
Peter Dutton, the Federal Home Affairs Minister, confirmed at the weekend that Australia was assessing ways to increase biosecurity surveillance at its borders, including screening for threats to health from infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
"We are looking at what the border system will look like in six or 12 months' time. There will be an additional overlay of biosecurity at our airports for years to come," Mr Dutton said.
Workers prepare to disinfect Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in China earlier this month. New biosecurity measures could require Australian airports to greatly increase cleaning levels.Credit: Getty Images
Professor Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity research program at the University of NSW and a global biosecurity expert, said that in light of COVID-19, airlines would need to be more scrupulous about health and hygiene aboard aircraft including onboard lavatories.
"The cleaning of aircraft would need to be much more rigorous than it currently is," Professor MacIntyre said. "In the pre-COVID era it was usual to unfold your tray table to find it still dirty from the previous passenger's meal, or to find the TV screen covered in fingerprints.
"High-touch areas like buttons on the armrest and seatbelts would need to be disinfected between flights. The toilets are a high-risk area, especially as SARS-CoV-2 can be in the faeces, and could even be aerosolised by flushing."
In the pre-COVID era it was usual to unfold your tray table to find it still dirty from the previous passenger's meal.
The wearing of masks inside airports as well as inflight by travellers may also be necessary due to the typically crowded settings of airports including departure lounges. Changes to screening procedures could include more spatial separation at X-ray screening channels as well as at check-in queues.
Dr Brendan Murphy, Australia's chief medical officer, has already stated that social distancing would need to continue indefinitely, even if COVID-19 was eliminated. Major airlines around the world are already required to space passengers apart on flights with adjacent seats left vacant resulting in lost revenue.
See: Qantas, Virgin join other airlines in scrapping middle seat
Requiring heavy cleaning of aircraft after each flight could increase turnaround time and reduce flight schedules.Credit: Getty Images
Professor MacIntyre, a globally-renowned epidemiologist, said she "didn't know the answers" to who would finance the costs of any new COVID-19 measures but she assumed that it would mean that in the future "travel will become very expensive, with costs being passed on to consumers".
Dr Tony Webber, a senior lecturer at the University of NSW's School of Aviation and a former Qantas chief economist, said that such rules would open "a massive can of worms" for airlines as they struggled to survive the effects of the pandemic, including Virgin Australia which was seeking a buyer to allow it to continue operating after it entered administration last week.
Dr Webber said: "If airlines have to deeply cleanse aircraft properly before and after each flight it'll require a lot more resources, impact on schedules and reduce the number of services they can operate. It will lead to higher cost structures combined with fewer seats being available in the market due to social distancing rules."
Emirates, the giant Dubai-based airline, last week introduced pre-boarding finger-prick tests for passengers. The use of such tests may be of value, according to Professor MacIntyre, depending on the sensitivity of the test, and whether they test for virus or antibodies.
"An antibody test won't reflect current infection. It would also be critical to ensure that the needle used for the finger prick is never re-used, as this could cause transmission of blood borne viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C."
Alexandre de Juniac, director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said last week that if social distancing was imposed inside aircraft a large proportion of seats would need to be blocked off.
He said: "It means two things: either you fly at the same price, selling the ticket at the same average price as before and then you lose an enormous amount of money, so it's impossible to fly for any airline. Or you increase the ticket price for a similar product by at least 50 per cent and then you are able to fly with a minimum profit."
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