Airlines in Europe and around the world have implemented numerous Corona measures to restore confidence in flying, which was badly shattered in 2020 due to the pandemic. Most of these measures varied from airline to airline and were not specified across the industry. This has also led to different perceptions on the customer side. But who has actually done the most when it comes to Corona measures? And what does it actually look like at the airports? And in the hotels? And in theme parks?

The Indian tourism management consulting firm Videc and its subsidiary Safe Travel Technologies also asked themselves this question. This has been publishing a monthly “ Safe Travel Barometer ” since August 2020. The “Safe Travel Barometer” is a B2B2C tool that is painstakingly compiled by employees of Safe Travel Technologies. In other words, they search the websites and PR portals of numerous companies for updates on the Corona measures and follow them up promptly. This information is sometimes verified directly with the companies.

255 airlines are examined, but also airports, hotels, short-term rental companies (e.g. Airbnb), rental car companies, cruise companies, theme parks, museums, activity providers and even entire destination areas. The ranking is then based on 26 parameters, i.e. measures that have been taken or not. In other words, the winner is whoever has officially introduced the most measures; There is no information on how these are implemented or enforced in practice.

There are three subgroups: “Covid-19 health and safety” (including categories such as cleaning frequency, mask requirement for passengers and/or staff, thermal screening, health declaration documents, etc.); “Service Excellence” and “Traveler Convenience”.

Is that serious? Let’s take a closer look at the results for November for airlines and airports, which have just been published.

Airlines

In November 2020, Gulf airlines were ahead. Emirates achieved the best safety score for the second month in a row with 4.4 out of 5.0 possible points. This result was achieved thanks to special service initiatives, flexible booking options and cancellation conditions, specific Covid19 insurance for each flight, increased cleaning frequencies and special testing measures for our own passengers. Qatar Airways also scored 4.4 points , closely followed by Etihad Airways with 4.3 points.

In total, 34 of the 255 airlines examined, i.e. only around 13 percent, achieved a score of 4.0 or higher. In Europe, Lufthansa was at the top (score 4.2), followed by Iberia and Virgin Atlantic (4.1 each) as well as Austrian Airlines, TAP Air Portugal and Air France, all of which achieved a 4.0. SWISS achieved a score of 3.6, while Edelweiss is far down in the rankings with 2.7. Virendra Jain from Safe Travel Barometer writes in a statement that he is “disappointed” with how European airlines are handling the Covid challenges: just 9 out of 76 airlines have scored 4.0 or more. Only North America was worse.

In North America, Delta Air Lines achieved the best result with 4.2 points; In addition, only Air Canada (4.0) made it into the top list. In the Asia-Pacific region, four airlines achieved a 4.1: Vistara , China Southern , Asiana and Air China . Another six received a 4.0: Singapore Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Qantas, Korean Air, Garuda Indonesia and Eva Air.

Low-cost carriers are also included in the mix. A total of 8 airlines achieved results of 4.0 or more in this segment, namely Easyjet, Eurowings, Ryanair, Cebu Pacific, IndiGo, GoAir, Air Arabia and SpiceJet.

Airports

The Gulf states are also at the top when it comes to airports. Five airports achieved a score of 4.4, namely Abu Dhabi (AUH), Dubai (DXB), Doha (DOH), Singapore-Changi (SIN) and London-Heathrow (LHR). Close behind, with a score of 4.3, are the airports of Athens (ATH), Beijing (PEK), Tel-Aviv (TLV), Boston-Logan (BOS) and Mumbai (BOM). Zurich Airport achieved a commendable score of 4.1.

In this category, the evaluation procedure has been slightly adjusted compared to previous classifications and now not only reflects the Covid19 measures, but also reinforces the “Traveller Convenience” and the “Traveller Experience”.

Conclusion

The usual frontrunners can also be found in the health and safety protocols developed to combat Covid-19: the Gulf airlines and airports, those from Asia, a few Europeans and North Americans.

However, classifications are always a thing. We find the evaluation criteria somewhat rigid and “theoretical”, as they are usually not based on an effective experience or customer feedback, but rather strictly on published measures. At least the dashboards provide a good overview of which company has already implemented which type of Covid19 measures. If you want to calm your nerves before a trip, you can try this game – if it helps to restore trust in airlines, airports, hotels, shipping companies and more or encourages others to do more, then that’s a good thing.

Read original story on Travelnews.