By Peden Doma Bhutia,
Vistara secured top position in Safe Travel Score for airlines in Asia Pacific based on the Covid-19 health and safety measures adopted by the airline. IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet make it to the top 10.

Faced with the challenges posed by Covid-19, safety is now the number one priority for the travel and hospitality industry. Almost all the surveys conducted in the past 4-5 months reflect that the willingness to travel is tempered by safety and hygiene concerns.

In a perfect redressal of such concerns, Safe Travel Barometer, a comprehensive database of traveller health and safety measures announced by travel brands, has released Safe Travel Score for airlines worldwide, including Asia Pacific (APAC).

The Safe Travel Score is an industry-first rating initiative, based on an independent audit of more than 150 airlines and 20 traveller health and safety measures announced, as part of the renewed preboarding, boarding and onboard experiences of airlines.

Scoring 4.4 out of 5, India’s Vistara lands the top spot among airlines in the APAC region. Chinese flag carrier China Airlines, Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia and Philippines Airlines follow with a Safe Travel Score of 4.2 each.

Three more Indian LCCs IndiGo (4.1), GoAir (4.0) and SpiceJet (3.9) – made it to the top-10 regional list; their measures driven by the guidelines issued by India’s aviation authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

“We are super excited about this Safe Travel Score. Airlines is just the beginning, we will also be gradually expanding it to airports and attractions. It’s the most comprehensive database globally. The fundamental premise of Safe Travel Score is to benchmark travel brands’ initiatives to reduce traveler anxiety. Our independent rating centred on traveller health and safety measures establishes a baseline for travel brands, while equally offering travelers a glimpse into what they can expect in their journeys,” says Virendra Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, Safe Travel.

Calling APAC the ground zero for the pandemic, Jain notes that the air space in the region is slowly opening up, one domestic market at a time. He also observes that governments and airlines have been working together to streamline and implement traveler safety protocols in a bid to revive air travel, including through a widespread use of contact tracing apps across China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Worldwide, German carrier Lufthansa is rated as the world’s leading airline with a Safe Travel Score of 4.5 out of 5. With a score of 4.4 Vistara, Delta Airlines and Allegiant Air are rated second in the Top 5 worldwide airlines for Covid-19 safety measures.

Read original story on ET TravelWorld.