The potential stickiness of pandemic-induced behavior changes in the United States.

Human behavior is notoriously difficult to change, but a disruption of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to bring about long-term behavioral changes. During the pandemic, people have been forced to experience new ways of interacting, working, learning, shopping, traveling, and eating meals. A critical question going forward is how these experiences have actually changed preferences and habits in ways that might persist after the pandemic ends. Many observers have suggested theories about what the future will bring, but concrete evidence has been lacking. We present evidence on how much US adults expect their own postpandemic choices to differ from their prepandemic lifestyles in the areas of telecommuting, restaurant patronage, air travel, online shopping, transit use, car commuting, uptake of walking and biking, and home location. The analysis is based on a nationally representative survey dataset collected between July and October 2020. Key findings include that the "new normal" will feature a doubling of telecommuting, reduced air travel, and improved quality of life for some.

Commercial Air Travel for Passengers With Cardiovascular Disease: Recommendations for Common Conditions.

The exponential growth of commercial flights has resulted in an explosion of air travelers over the last few decades, including passengers with a wide range of cardiovascular conditions. Notwithstanding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that had set back the aviation industry for the next 1-2 years, air travel is expected to rebound fully by 2024. Guidelines and evidence-based recommendations for safe air travel in this group vary, and physicians often encounter situations where opinions and assessments on fitness for flights are sought. This article aims to provide an updated suite of recommendations for the aeromedical disposition of passenger with common cardiovascular conditions, such as ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathies, and common arrhythmias.

Air travel in a COVID-19 world: Commercial airline passengers' health concerns and attitudes towards infection prevention and disease control measures.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 and its associated travel bans have reduced international passenger traffic by over 80% below 2019 levels. If airlines are to resume flying at commercially sustainable levels, they must work to restore passengers confidence and sense of security. This study examined commercial airline passengers' health concerns and attitudes towards infection prevention and control measures for travel health and safety in the current COVID-19 global pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted inviting adult members of 39 frequent flyer groups across three social media platforms to participate in an online survey. RESULTS: A total of 205 respondents completed the survey. The majority (75.6%) reported feeling 'somewhat' to 'extremely concerned' about contracting an infectious disease while flying, particularly respiratory-related. Few (9.8%) reported perceiving their health as an 'essential priority' for their preferred airline. Most respondents agreed airlines should provide complimentary hand sanitisers (86.8%), sanitary wipes (82.9%) and masks (64.4%) for passengers to use while flying as well as more information about preventing the spread of infections (90.7%), which would make the majority feel safer to fly. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 has extensively challenged the air travel industry. Passengers have signalled that they expect more from airlines, and that they would actively engage in additional infection prevention and disease control measures while flying. Airlines must ensure passengers about the steps taken to minimize travel-associated risks, and their commitment towards passengers' health and wellbeing, in order to rebuild consumers' confidence in the recovery of the air travel industry.

Commercial airline protocol during COVID-19 pandemic: An experience of Thai Airways International.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the aviation industry. Existing protocols have relied on scientifically questionable evidence and might not lead to the optimal balance between public health safety and airlines' financial viability. OBJECTIVE: To explore the implementation feasibility of Thai Airways International protocol from the perspectives of passengers and aircrews. DESIGN: An online questionnaire survey of passengers and an in-depth interview with aircrews. SETTING: Two randomly selected repatriation flights operated by Thai Airways International using Boeing 777 aircraft (TG476 from Sydney and TG492 from Auckland to Bangkok). PARTICIPANTS: 377 Thai passengers and 35 aircrews. RESULTS: The mean age of passengers was 28.14 (95%CI 26.72 to 29.55) years old; 57.03% were female. TG492 passengers were mostly students and significantly younger than that of TG476 (p<0.0001) with comparable flying experience (p = 0.1192). The average body temperature was 36.52 (95%CI 36.48 to 36.55) degrees Celsius. Passengers estimated average physical distances of 1.59 (95%CI 1.48 to 1.70), 1.41 (95%CI 1.29 to 1.53), and 1.26 (95%CI 1.12 to 1.41) meters at check-in, boarding, and in-flight, respectively. Passengers were checked for body temperature during the flight 1.97 (95%CI 1.77 to 2.18) times on average which is significantly more frequent in longer than shorter flight (p<0.0001). Passengers moved around or went to the toilet during the flight 2.00 (95%CI 1.63 to 2.37) and 2.08 (95%CI 1.73 to 2.43) times which are significantly more frequent in longer than shorter flight (p = 0.0186 and 0.0049, respectively). The aircrews were satisfied with the protocol and provided several practical suggestions. CONCLUSION: The protocol was well received by the passengers and aircrews of the repatriation flights with some suggestions for improvement.