Reviving Air Travel And Florida Tourism

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An American Airlines plane lands at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 16, 2020. Air traffic has rebounded a bit but it’s way below pre-coronavirus levels.

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Another Coronavirus Casualty: Florida Tourism

Spirit Airlines Chief Operating Office John Bendoraitis backed up the Governor’s claim. «We’ve had zero outbreaks on Spirit,» he said, «and really we’ve had zero guests come forward and say they’ve had any kind of problem onboard the aircraft.» Bendoraitis and other airline executives described the protocols they’ve adopted to prevent coronavirus transmission, including increased sanitation measures, required face coverings for all passengers and the use of high efficiency air filters. Bendoraitis said, «People should know that on an airplane, air changes every two to three minutes.» By contrast he said, in hospitals, air is exchanged every ten minutes. Health experts agree that the rate of infection from air travel appears low, but that little research has been done to back up that claim.

For people planning a trip to Florida, DeSantis says the declining number of coronavirus cases statewide should be encouraging. «The trend is unmistakable,» he said. «The number of people showing up to hospitals or getting admitted (are) far, far below where they were.»

He said he supports lifting bans on travel to the U.S. currently in place for Europe and Brazil, markets important for Florida tourism. At Miami International Airport, director Lester Sola said the ban has had a big impact. International travel typically accounts for half of that airport’s activity. Sola says when the travel bans are lifted, flights from Latin America and Europe will resume quickly. «The demand is there,» he says. «We get constant inquiries from people wanting to travel to Miami…people who have homes here, people who have businesses here.»

• coronavirus
• air travel
• tourism
• Florida