Southwest and COVID-19: Air Travel in a Pandemic

During this pandemic, we have tried our best to avoid prolonged exposure and/or ‘close contact’ with anyone that we do not know personally, and cannot ensure has been personally responsible; we see this as our best defense against the virus. In that regard, theme parks have been (and continue to be) a relatively comfortable environment for us. An airplane cabin, on the other hand, is - at least in the abstract - a nightmare scenario. But to get from Maryland to Florida and back, one must either commit to the loss of at least two full days on the road, or submit to the hassle of air travel. In the interest of preserving vacation days and making more memories in the short time that we had, we chose the latter.

So, this past October, even as a cold front began nudging the majority of people towards indoor activities and (consequently) COVID-19 began to resurge across the continental United States, we made a gamble on interstate travel by way of Southwest Airlines. We had our reasons, and we were even more careful than usual to mask up, maintain safe social distance, sanitize/wash our hands frequently - like, every five-six minutes frequently - but, as you might imagine, such a close, indoor conglomerate of so many different people still brought its fair share of anxiety.

But was it safe?

I’ll get right to the point - yes. Despite all of the horror stories that we had read online, despite all the Instagram posts detailing social distancing (or lack thereof), and despite our own deep-seated fears and anxieties, in the end, we felt absolutely safe from the moment we arrived at BWI International Airport to the moment we reached our ultimate destination. The airport(s) and the airline(s) alike have made an impressively cohesive joint effort to create a safe environment for airline passengers of all types, destinations and travel distances.

What are the airports doing differently?

Of course, every airport is different. On this particular trip, we flew direct each way, so we only experienced the conditions at two different airports: Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI), and Orlando International Airport (MCO). Conditions were different at each of these two airports - for example, MCO was much more busy and populous at the time of our arrival than BWI was at either our departure or our return. BWI also encouraged patrons to keep their shoes on during security checks so as to keep the lines moving (and distanced) a little better, whereas MCO held to the old standard of shoes-in-bucket. However, the broader COVID-19 safety precautions were much the same. These precautions included:

• Mask Requirement for ALL Parties over 2 years of age (Flight Crew, Passengers, TSA, etc.) at both airports we visited.

• Hourly sanitization of all high-traffic surfaces and bathrooms at both airports we visited.

• Staggered Airline Departures to keep additional seating available at gates and promote distancing at BWI.

• Limited Seating at all in-terminal dining options at BWI.

• No-Touch Security Scans at TSA & Security Checkpoints at both airports we visited.

All of the above worked in tandem to create a space that was - in our opinion - just as safe as any outdoor venue, theme park or grocery store that we’ve attended for the duration of this pandemic thus far. This was actually a bit surprising, especially at MCO, where state governance has rescinded all penalties for any violation of COVID-related rulings and where we expected to see a bit more revelry; needless to say, we’ve never been more pleased to be wrong.

What is Southwest doing differently?

By the time we boarded our outbound Southwest Airlines flight at BWI, we were confident that the trip would be a safe one. However, Southwest also offered some additional precautions to ensure that all of our anxieties were quelled and that we could enjoy this flight as we would any other flight in any other year. These precautions - some of which were new to us - included:

• Masks were Required for the duration of the flight, except when eating and drinking - not “one skittle at a time for two hours”, as our attendant put it - but a quick snack before replacing the mask for the remainder of the trip.

• Mask Type Permitted: Gaiters, Filtered Masks, Bandanas and Woven masks are not permitted aboard Southwest flights.

• Masks were Enforced by the flight staff; whenever a nose was spotted, someone was quick to stop by and gently remind said nose that it needed to be covered. We had no major violators on either of our flights, but we are confident from what we saw and heard that if a violator was adamant about pushing back on the rules, they would be deplaned before liftoff or promptly met by security after landing.

• Boarding Group Dispersal: Boarding groups were split into clusters of no more than ten, so that nobody was congregating at the gate and everybody was still able to make it onto the plane in an orderly fashion and find a (unassigned) seat.

• Beverage Service was modified to limit the time that each attendant spent in close contact with passengers, and also to reduce the number of objects that might be touched or require cleaning between flights. Water and a snack pack are currently being offered for travelers with more than 250 miles to go, but alcohol and sodas are not on the menu. As an added (and we’re sure intended) bonus of the modification, nobody gets tipsy enough to forget that their mask is required.

• Middle seats were left empty for both of our flights, meaning that the airline only sold 66% of the aircraft’s total capacity. This will eventually cease to be a major factor as Southwest has frequently made note of their eventual intention to fill all crafts to capacity as the demand for air travel begins to increase again. However, as of the time of this writing, middle seats on Southwest flights are set to remain open through November 30th, 2020.

• Bathrooms & Shared Surface Cleanings took place between each flight, so our community resources were sanitized before we boarded at BWI and again after we arrived at MCO. Although this seems like a given, it does inspire confidence to see a cleaning with your own eyes.

So, should you travel by air in a pandemic?

The answer here would still probably be “not unless you need to”, especially as our ‘winter surge’ of COVID-19 begins to take shape and travel advisories and restrictions return in a blaze of glory. However, as two people who went against our own advice and made a risky decision to travel by air to a recreational destination, we are hopeful that we have assuaged some of your travel anxiety here. While we can only speak to Southwest, BWI and MCO, you can probably assume that your safety will be taken just as seriously by any major airline or airport in your locale. The industry of air travel as a whole is hurting for your business, and industry leaders want you to feel safe and comfortable enough to provide it - so you can trust that they will go the extra mile (pun intended) to get you where you need to go safely.

Watch the Vlog to See More!

Don’t take our word for it; you can also see (second-hand) what we experienced first-hand in our very first travel vlog! As an added bonus, you can also see what to expect from Disney’s Magical Express if you’re commuting to Disney property from MCO.