Ever stop to think how many hands touch your luggage from the time you leave home, arrive at the airport, and then reach your travel destination? Curious to know how many virus particles fit on a single pinhead? Are you in the habit of disinfecting your luggage after a trip? According to a “Post-COVID-19 Air Travel/Bio-Security” survey conducted last week by WarpUV, all respondents said they believe their baggage has passed through a lot of hands—10 or more. Of those, 17 percent believe more than 20 hands have handled their luggage, whether while using a ride service, the baggage handlers at the airport, or hotel personnel.
More than 55 percent of the consumers who completed the survey, in fact, said they did not travel by air last year because they feared either contracting the virus or potentially spreading it to others. This, and the actions taken by the airline industry as a result of COVID-19, created a huge blow to air travel. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the pandemic resulted in a 66 percent drop in air travel last year—that’s more than after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003 and the global financial crisis of 2008.
As people around the globe are being vaccinated against the coronavirus and with more awareness about the devastating effects of virus spread, it’s not surprising that more than 84 percent of respondents said they agree with officials at the world’s leading agencies—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Council of the European Union—that another pandemic is inevitable, and it is critical to be prepared.
As with x-ray and other measures taken at airports following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, those same respondents agree airports should take biosecurity measures to minimize the health and economic impact of future virus spread. Specifically, when asked if they’d feel safer and more likely to travel by air if luggage would be completely and quickly disinfected using ultraviolet (UV) technology at the airport, 78 percent said yes. Sixteen percent said they felt additional bio-security measures were unnecessary.
With that said, 58 percent of respondents said they have never disinfected their own luggage during or after use. Of those, 28 percent said, in light of the virus spread, they will now start doing so.
Source: WarpUV
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