Travel and COVID-19

The global travel industry has been in turmoil since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 in December 2019. Many would-be travelers, including business travelers and vacationers, canceled previously planned trips or delayed future travel plans in the hopes of reducing their risk of catching a virus that CNN estimated had claimed more than 4,000 lives across the globe between December 2019 and mid-March 2020. According to estimates from the Global Business Travel Association, business travel revenue loss totaled $820 billion across the globe through the first week of March 2020. The International Air Transport Association estimated that global airlines stood to lose $113 billion in sales if the coronavirus continued to spread, a decline in sales that the industry has not experienced since the global financial crisis of 2008. That loss in revenue has led many airlines and cruise lines to decrease prices in an effort to entice more people to travel. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that travel could be dangerous, particularly for people with underlying health conditions who intend to take cruises. As of March 2020, the CDC was recommending that travelers who fit that criteria defer all cruise ship travel. Cruises place vast numbers of people in frequent and close contact with each other, conditions that can promote the spread of respiratory viruses like COVID-19. The CDC notes that, due to the way air is circulated and filtered on airplanes, most viruses and other germs do not easily spread on airplanes. However, those who want to err on the side of caution should discuss travel with their physicians, including whether or not it’s beneficial to delay unnecessary travel plans until the threat of COVID-19 is minimized.