Safety is the keyword for aviation. But, way beyond passenger control, aircraft maintenance and competence of crews, there is now another concern. In times of the new coronavirus pandemic, other measures must be strictly followed to ensure the lives of all those who embark on an airplane. And that is how the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) rulebook came about. It consists of four parts: preparation for trip, stay in airport, embarkation and disembarkation.
Preparation begins at home. Since the use of masks is mandatory throughout the whole flight, in order to ensure one’s own safety and that of the other passengers and of the crew, ANAC recommends taking a number of masks that allows for compliance with safety measures: changing the mask every two hours, or even sooner if the mask is damp. Alcohol gel must not be forgotten, and, on national flights, the agency allows one to take on board a container of not more than 500ml of the product, as long as it is perfectly closed in order to prevent the undesired liberation of its contents. On international flights, the flasks must be made of transparent plastic and with a maximum capacity of 100ml. ANAC also recommends that the check-in should be done at home.
On arrival at the airport, in case the check-in hasn’t been done on the internet, one must respect the minimum safety social distancing, 1.5 to 2 meters, whenever it is necessary to stand in line or to arrange seats. At the airport, all the employees must wear individual protection equipment while attending to clients. Furthermore, alcohol gel must be available at strategic points, and bathrooms must be fully functioning, with soap and water for sanitizing hands. The sanitation of the airport must also be constant, especially in places which passengers touch, such as handrails, the arms of chairs, baggage carts, escalators and drinking fountains, for instance.
On the aircraft, ANAC guarantees that passengers needn’t worry about the air filtering system that renews the air. The system is updated every 3 minutes, and captures around 99% of the particles in the air, although this does not cancel the need for wearing masks. For in-flight services, the rule is to reduce the circulation of crew in the airplane, prioritizing food and drink served in individual, pre-sanitized packages. Later, the material must be duly disposed of. On disembarkation, the rule is for the passenger to remain seated until authorized to leave by the disembarkation crew.
Other changes have been established in the form of Resolution nº 563, which foresees exceptional flexibilization measures of Resolution nº 400/2016 responsible for dictating the rules for transportation by air.
In this case, for tickets valid between February 4th and December 31st, 2020 have the
following guarantees:
– Material assistance is guaranteed to passengers on national territory, except in case of the closing of borders and airports determined by authorities.
– Passengers’ remarks must be answered within the same timeframe established for the platform Consumidor.gov.br (at present,15 days).
– In case of alteration of programming, delay, cancellation or interruption of flight, the passenger is guaranteed re-accommodation on another airline, if there is no flight available on the original airline.
For tickets bought between May 14th and December 31st, 2020:
– The transporter must communicate to the passenger any changes in the flight program at least 24 hours in advance.
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*Restrictions and liberations relative to air transport mentioned in the text may be altered according to the incidence of new cases of Covid-19. Always look for updated information.
