Airlines say transmission of COVID-19 in flight is rare but so is data to prove it
DeSantis reassured travelers flying would not increase their chances of catching the virus but didnt disclose what data or studies could prove that. DeSantis said we track the best we can what goes on in Florida and asked the airline representatives if theyve seen in outbreaks related to air travel. The research we have seen to date, and our own investigations with the worlds airlines, tell us that the risk of catching COVID-19 on a flight remains very low. In general, the longer you are around a person with COVID-19, the more likely you are to get infected, according to CDC information on COVID-19 and travel. However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and sitting within 6 feet of others, sometimes for hours, may increase your risk of getting COVID-19, according to CDC.gov.
Spirit warns of layoffs; aid for contractors being examined
Separately, key members of Congress said they are investigating aviation contractors that took federal payroll aid and then laid off thousands of workers. Airlines and airline contractors who received cash from a $32 billion pool of federal payroll aid agreed not to lay off workers until Oct. 1. Airline labor unions are lobbying Congress for six more months of federal aid. Some contractors who received money laid off workers anyway, according to three Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. At Spirit, the pilots union said it was notified Wednesday that 806 pilots could be furloughed, or terminated with rehiring rights.
Phones, shoes, food used in attack on workers at Florida airport, deputies say
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Several Spirit Airlines employees were injured Tuesday night when they were attacked by three women who were apparently upset that their flight from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia had been delayed, sheriff's officials said. The women hit the employees with miscellaneous items, such as phones, shoes, full water bottles, metal boarding signs and fast food, according to Broward Sheriff's Office arrest reports. The incident happened outside the gate of a flight to Philadelphia in the airport's Terminal 4. Deputies arrested the women, who are all from Philadelphia. Tymaya Wright, 20, was charged with battery and petit theft for taking a Spirit employees phone and putting it in her backpack.