The trade association for the world’s major airlines is proposing a range of measures aimed at relaunching the global air travel industry — including an end to in-flight physical distancing rules — that run counter to the established policies of Canadian airlines and the federal government.
The International Air Transport Association’s roadmap to restarting commercial flights — which have dropped off by more than 95 per cent among Canadian carriers due to the COVID-19 pandemic — suggests that passenger face coverings have “obviated” the need for social distancing on board, that aircraft seats provide a further barrier to viral transmission and that onboard air filtration systems are equivalent to those at hospital operating theatres.