South Florida airports says they are seeing some increase in the number of people willing to fly. In response, they are trying to be out front when it comes to safety precautions, hoping the security will cause travelers to return to the skies.
The passenger levels are up to about 28,000 per day at Miami International Airport, and that’s a big upswing from what it was in March when only several thousand people were flying each day. But that's still nowhere near the number of what the number of passengers was before COVID-19, when on a normal day, 117,000 passengers came through MIA daily.
When travelers stepped up to board the Frontier Airlines flight to Denver Tuesday afternoon, they got a temperature check -- one of the things Frontier is doing on flights out of MIA to bring some sense of comfort to those boarding.
“I definitely think this process is a good idea because it gives everybody on the plane some sort of peace of mind," passenger Vanessa Benavente said.
“I’m glad. I’m grateful," passenger Kimberly Kline said. "We are in a hot zone so I am really happy they are taking these precautions."
For American Airlines, the planes are given an electrostatic spray once a week that kills just about any germ. The aircrafts are also cleaned between flights and get a deep cleaning at night. The head of the American operation in Miami said that's just one of changes they have made to restore confidence in getting on board.
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"We confer with all the guidelines issued by government authorities, both federal and state," Juan Carlos Liscano said. "And we feel confident of the interior of the cabin and the cleanliness and safety we are providing.“
The MIA airport director said on the county’s end, they too have made updates to protect the public.
“Our responsibility is making sure that our passengers coming though MIA feel confident in using this airport, and when you come into this airport, you will recognize the amount of signage we have deployed thought the system, the number of disinfecting units we have put thoroughly the entire terminal," Lester Sola said.
American added that due to all the cleaning it's doing, it feels confident in its recent announcement not to block out the center aisle seats anymore on all of its flights.
