Southwest Airlines and Wyndham Hotels joined us this past Tuesday for Part 2 of our Ask Me Anything Series. They provided inside access to their new policies and procedures in place to keep your travelers safe and productive during Covid-19. Plus, they answered all of your questions about returning to travel.
In case you missed it, we wanted to highlight a few key takeaways from our discussion. For more, check out the video recording of the webinar.
Southwest Airlines
- Southwest is committed to providing barriers wherever they can throughout the travel journey, promoting physical distancing, and providing resources such as hand sanitizer for safety.
- Facemasks are required for both employees and customers at all stages of travel.
- If a passenger declines to wear a mask, they will be denied boarding. If they remove their mask once they’ve boarded and refuse to put it back on, they will be escorted off the plane.
- During a flight if a passenger removes their mask and refuses to put it back on, Southwest will notify the authorities at their destination’s airport and have the authorities handle the situation from there.
- Typically, Southwest passengers board in groups of 30. Right now, passengers board in groups of 10 to promote social distancing.
- Aircrafts are cleaned between each flight and each plane has a HEPA air filter.
- At all various entry points into Southwest airports, offices, and headquarters, temperature scans are given to all employees. Every Southwest employee who enters into a work zone must go through a temperature scan to make sure they are not showing any symptoms of Covid-19.
- Southwest is keeping middle seats open through the end of October to ensure that customers are getting the experience that they’re looking for right now in terms of safety.
- Flights will not be booked accordingly to ensure all middle seats can be left open.
Wyndham Hotels
- All properties require face coverings while in indoor public areas.
- Guests will receive disinfecting wipes with their key cards at check-in.
- There will be complimentary travel-size hand sanitizer for each room.
- Housekeeping staff cleans lobbies and public spaces multiple times throughout each day.
- Each property follows local and state guidelines when it comes to food and beverage service.
- Depending on the state and local guidelines, some Wyndham hotels have take out available and some even have socially distanced dining options available.
If you have any questions for Southwest or Wyndham on what they are doing to keep travelers safe, let us know!
Cassie Sclafani
Elliott McNamee: July 18, 2024
