Major airlines are projecting fewer flights in the next month as Americans remain home amid the health crisis. But some Americans are still flying into Coronavirus hot spots.
Not all flights are grounded despite calls for Americans not to travel. Private and commercial airlines are still operating essential flights for lawmakers, health officials, and Americans coming home.
“We really can’t look at the airline world as a ubiquitous, uniform operation. The smaller airlines are very different than the larger airlines,” Charlie Leocha, travel expert and President of Travelers United, told KTRH.
Some airlines are also using passenger planes to transport medical cargo into coronavirus hot spots like New York City.
Leocha says it will take time for commercial airlines to get back to operating as they were before the Coronavirus outbreak.
“It’s going to take some time before the airlines can develop a bit of confidence in fact that they are not disinfecting planes, that they are going to have fewer people on board flights,” Leocha said.
He says that could take months or even years to rebuild customer trust.