The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world in a lot of ways. Among them are unprecedented numbers of workers doing their jobs from virtual offices at home and more and more people going online for shopping, COVID-related news and information, and making charitable donations.
While the masses gravitate in greater numbers to the digital world, it appears that cyber criminals have stepped up their game.
PHL CEO Chellie Cameron presented an airport update to an audience of more than 160 community leaders on May 22 for The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia's Virtual "Region On the Rise" event. Her presentation can be found below, covering PHL's traffic forecast, the CARES Act, how PHL is keeping passengers safe, and a survey where business travelers can submit feedback on the passenger experience.
As the COVID-19 health crisis lingers into the Memorial Day weekend – the traditional start of the summer travel season – the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has introduced changes to the security screening process that aim to reduce the potential for cross-contamination at the security checkpoint in an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. TSA has already started implementation of these changes and more are slated by mid-June.
What is your current position at PHL and how long have you worked here?
When the Grab platform was introduced for ordering food at the airport, it was seen as a convenience tool for travelers that wanted to pick up their meals quickly while on the way to their gates and employees with limited break time to purchase food. In the COVID-19 world, Grab is a way to promote physical distancing and safety, by allowing users to avoid queuing in crowded lines and limiting high touch interactions for restaurant staff.
PHL generates $16.8 billion in spending annually and supports more than 106,000 full-time jobs for the 11-county Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of workers have been furloughed. Many of these workers are airline employees, airport contractors, and concessions employees.
As the COVID-19 health crisis continues to impact the aviation industry, there is no timetable for when airline operations may approach pre-pandemic levels. At Philadelphia International Airport, flight ops are down about 90 percent from this time a year ago.
Still, people are flying. On May 11, TSA reported it screened 215,645 passengers at airports across the country – its highest since March 25. American Airlines, the largest carrier at PHL, reports that its local passenger numbers are up slightly since April while its schedule has been reduced by 80 percent versus May 2019.
When asked how they prepare for a trip, most travelers will answer with: taking care of the airfare, travel accommodations and rental car; making sure that everyone has their passport/ID; and getting to the airport on time, among other things.
Does anyone think about the air control towers of the airports they fly out of and into?
Beginning May 22, access to Philadelphia International Airport’s facilities will be limited to those with airport business, including badged employees, ticketed passengers and people who are transporting those with airport business.
Airports have two primary roles at this time: to be open for flights that transport essential personnel and to accommodate cargo flights transporting critical goods. “Since the travel restrictions went into place, our passenger volume is down about 80-90 percent over last year, but our cargo operations have increased 12.9 percent for the year,” said Stephanie Wear, PHL’s Director of Air Service Development and Cargo Services.
