INDEX
- Q.Is the air inside the cabin kept clean?
- Q. I am worried about queues and crowds when boarding and disembarking.
- Q.Are the in-flight meals, drinks, and other things I ingest safe?
- Q. I'm worried that the amenities on the plane may be contaminated with viruses.
- Q.Are there any disinfectants on board?
- Q. I'm worried that there will be people on the plane without wearing masks.
- Q.Are there any changes to services to prevent infection?
- Q.Is the cabin disinfected?
- Q. How much disinfection do you do? I'm worried about whether there are any areas left unwiped.
- Aiming to create the cleanest cabin in the world. Infection prevention measures are part of a new service
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reaches many aspects of our lives, flying can be a cause for concern. Since the spread of infections began in February, JAL has been taking measures to do everything possible as quickly as possible. Harue Takagi, who oversees flight attendant services, and Miki Matsumoto, from JAL Ground Services, who cleans and disinfects the cabin, will answer any questions or concerns you may have about the measures being taken on board.
Q.Is the air inside the cabin kept clean?
A. All air is circulated through a purifying filter once every 2 to 3 minutes.
"Airplane cabins are constantly ventilated, and all the air is circulated within two to three minutes. In addition, all JAL planes are equipped with high-performance air purification filters that constantly bring in clean outside air. Airplanes are actually the mode of transportation with the cleanest air possible." (Takagi)
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Q. I am worried about queues and crowds when boarding and disembarking.
A. We are taking measures to prevent queues, such as limiting the number of boarding announcements at one time.
"When boarding, we guide passengers to the ticket gates in small groups of 10 to 20 people at a time. This helps to avoid queues and prevents congestion on board. Also, when disembarking, queues tend to form. For this reason, we ask passengers to 'maintain social distancing and disembark slowly' on board," says Takagi.
Q.Are the in-flight meals, drinks, and other things I ingest safe?
A. We have devised a way to provide the service.
"As a rule, drinks are served individually packaged, such as in paper cartons. In domestic first class, meals are also served, but they are now served with the lid on and customers can take them themselves. Bread is also served warm, wrapped in aluminum foil. Furthermore, glasses and coffee cups are now disposable, and the moistened tissues we hand out to customers have been changed from cloth to individually wrapped paper. Also, on routes to Okinawa, we used to sell ice cream, beer, and non-alcoholic beer, but these have also been suspended for the time being."
Q. I'm worried that the blankets on the plane may be contaminated with viruses.
A. We have suspended some services and are trying not to reuse them.
We are currently suspending the provision of blankets and pillows on domestic flights upon request. In addition, in First Class, all blankets are replaced with new ones for each flight. We ensure that blankets are individually wrapped and are cleaned after each use.
Q.Are there any disinfectants on board?
A. We provide disinfectant wipes as well as a shared disinfectant spray.
"We ensure that all lavatories are equipped with hand sanitizer, and individually wrapped disinfectant wipes will also be available for complimentary use upon boarding."
Q. I'm worried that there will be people on the plane without wearing masks.
A. As a general rule, both cabin attendants and customers are required to wear masks.
"We strongly urge all customers to wear masks unless their physical condition or physical reasons require it. Of course, cabin attendants also wear masks at all times while on duty. In addition, cabin attendants are provided with a selection of plastic gloves to pick up before their shift for when serving beverages, etc. All staff boarding the aircraft are required to have their temperature taken before their shift."
Q. Have any services been changed to prevent infection?
A. We are taking various measures to reduce contact with cabin attendants.
"In addition to the above measures, for example, in principle, customers are asked to pack their own baggage. We also had a QR code scan to get a prefecture stamp, but this has also been temporarily suspended. We have also suspended the storage of logbooks, which were popular as a way to create memories of the trip, and instead provide paper copies upon request. We apologize for the inconvenience, but in order to reduce the risk, we are reducing physical contact with flight attendants."
*QR code scanning has resumed on board from November 1, 2020.
For more details and the latest information, please refer to the "JAL FLIGHT FUN!" page.
https://www.jal.co.jp/jp/ja/k-tai/appli/flight_fun/index.html
Q.Is the cabin disinfected?
A. At each airport, aircraft cabins are disinfected after each flight of the day.
"Basically, we disinfect all surfaces that customers can touch. In particular, we disinfect seat belts, armrests, monitors, remote controls, tables, and storage spaces for luggage, as well as the galleys where flight attendants work."
"We disinfect the lavatories, which are prone to droplets, particularly thoroughly. We focus on areas that customers touch, such as the lids of the toilet paper holders and the openings of the trash cans," says Matsumoto.
Q. How much disinfection do you do? I'm worried about whether there are any areas left unwiped.
A. The in-flight cleaning team thoroughly disinfects every nook and cranny while also cleaning the aircraft.
"We use gloves, alcohol spray, and towels. The gloves and towels are discarded after each aircraft is disinfected. If we spray the alcohol directly on the areas we're wiping, the virus will spread, so we spray the alcohol on the towels. For large aircraft, a team of about 10 people will spend about an hour cleaning the aircraft."
"Because of the reduction in flights, we have fewer staff members than usual, but after the evening when all the planes that have completed their flights for the day gather at Haneda Airport, there are always two to four teams working in shifts. Each team has about ten people, and they work on about eight to ten planes per night. Sometimes we limit the number of people on board to avoid the three Cs, and they work in shifts," said Matsumoto.
Aiming to create the cleanest cabin in the world. Infection prevention measures are part of a new service
As you can see, we are taking various measures to prevent infection on board. However, our staff on-board are faced with a dilemma as they are unable to provide the same level of service as usual.
"JAL has always aimed to provide the best possible service as a full-service carrier. Thanks to this, we have become a carrier that has been awarded the highest rating, a 5-star airline, by Skytrax, the British airline rating agency. However, having to cut back on the service we have established is a heartbreaking experience for all our staff. Up until now, we have placed emphasis on providing service that is based on enjoyable communication with customers. But now, we have no choice but to take measures to reduce contact points." (Takagi)
However, safety and security are also important services.
"From the perspective of safety and security, we have focused on strengthening maintenance and security up until now. From now on, in addition to that, I think it will be important for us to aim to have the cleanest cabins in the world and provide this as a new service." (Takagi)
"Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, many customers continue to fly. It is important that we do our best to give these customers, and their loved ones, some peace of mind. I believe that now is the time for all employees to come together and make preparations so that many people can fly with smiles on their faces." (Matsumoto)
We would like to make these measures a part of the new lifestyle. We apologize for the continued inconvenience this will cause our customers, but our commitment to doing our best for our customers who choose JAL will not change. We will continue to take various measures to provide safety and peace of mind.
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*Some content was updated on November 25, 2020.
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The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
