Coronavirus: Emirates, Etihad and Flydubai cabin crew wear in-flight protective gear

Travellers with upcoming flights should expect their journey to look a little unique of normal, with Emirates and Flydubai stepping up in-flight safety precautions in a bid to protect passengers and crew.

All Emirates cabin crew, boarding agents and ground staff that use travellers have been issued with personal protective equipment (PPE) to be worn every time they are on duty.

The kits include protective disposable gowns to be worn over standard Emirates’ uniforms, and also gloves, masks and safety visors within the eyes.

Travellers must wear protective coverings: all passengers must wear face masks and gloves from check-in at Terminal 3 until they disembark their flight within their chosen destination.

Travellers must follow temporary rules that include sitting in pre-assigned seats. That is to permit Emirates to allocate empty seats between individual travellers to ensure social distancing in the air. Families who live together can still sit as an organization, and this ought to be requested through the check-in process at Dubai International Airport.

All cabin baggage apart from laptops, handbags, briefcases and baby items should be checked in. Emirates is allowing passengers to include their cabin baggage allowance with their check-in allowance.

Emirates’ in-flight food and beverage services also have changed, and all meals are now being offered in the sort of bento-style boxes. Made to reduce contact between crew and passengers during flights, each box contains sandwiches, beverages, snacks and desserts. Travellers cannot order special meals at this time.

New procedures at Terminal 3

The airline has also implemented new procedures at Dubai AIRPORT TERMINAL. Gloves and masks are actually mandatory at the airport, for both travellers and staff.

Thermal scanners have already been installed to monitor the temperature of anyone getting into the airport. Social distancing is also in action with distance markers on the ground at waiting areas to greatly help travellers measure the correct distance to stand from others during check-in and boarding processes.

Check-in staff at Emirates now sit behind protective barriers installed at each desk.

Flydubai and Etihad crew don masks

Emirates isn't the only UAE airline changing things in terms of in-flight safety before coronavirus.

Flydubai in addition has established new guidelines to ensure all cabin crew operating repatriation flights wear protective equipment.

“Our crew wear gloves and masks, and on-board standard pieces of equipment we carry include Universal Precaution Kits as alongside Emergency Medical Kits and First Aid Kits,” said a Flydubai spokesperson.

Etihad, the national airline of the UAE, recently released a video thanking employees working in the pandemic because of their service. In the video, Etihad crew can be seen wearing face masks and gloves. The airline in addition has suspended online seat selection to "help us to check out social distancing guidelines as closely as possible, and ensure you stay safe when you travel with us," said the airline on its website.

Flights in and from the UAE are temporarily suspended, but airlines are working to supply repatriation flights to bring Emiratis back again to the united states and take stranded travellers home. You can get out more about repatriation flights here.