LONDON, ON -- London International Airport is trying to do its part to put the minds of March Break travellers at ease.
It’s a two pronged approach; cleanliness and clear information.
Anything travellers might come in contact with is getting more thorough and more frequent wipe-downs.
"We've stepped up our efforts in having the building cleaned regularly. I mean we pride ourselves in having a clean building but we've upped our game in that,” says Airport President Mike Seabrook. He is also constantly monitoring notifications regarding air travel and potential COVID-19 hotspots.
"You know it's certainly nervous times in this industry. I mean hourly I'm getting updates on what's taking place."
What Seabrook finds encouraging is that many of the destinations flights originating out of London travel too are domestic or sunny get-away locations which continue to be considered lower risk.
"The Caribbean, the rate of infection is like it is in Canada. It's a very, very low risk."
Spencer Grey, 20, is part of a family of eight from Windsor who are flying from London to Cuba for a March Break vacations. He says coronavirus created some conversation, but not a lot of concern.
"It was more like: wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, be clean, or whatever. But it wasn't really a conversation about going or not going."
For his part, Premier Doug Ford is also encouraging March Break travel, "I just want the families, and their children, to have a good time. Go away, have a good time, enjoy yourself and we're going to be monitoring the situation."
Seabrook says, as of Thursday, it looks like people were taking the Premier's advice.
"I think we're going to have a busy March Break, maybe not as busy as previous years, but it's still going to be busy."
But Seabrook warns that the volatility COVID-19 has created could have further impacts on travel schedules so it's important to constantly monitor airline and accommodation information.
