It's safe to fly again, Southwest Airlines' CEO claims

The CEO of Southwest Airlines, Gary Kelly, has claimed that it's safe to fly and travel again, coming as the world battles to contain over 3.6million COVID-19 infections.

Although there has been no vaccine for the pandemic that has killed at least 251,707 globally, so far, Kelly feels that an airplane is as safe as any environment one can find.

Speaking on CBS News' " Face the Nation," Kelly told interviewer Margaret Brennan measures taken by the airline to clean planes and protect passengers made it safe for passengers to return.

"We're doing everything possible to encourage people to come back and fly," he said. "We're cleaning airplanes. We're requiring masks of our employees and our customers. We're using very deep cleanings every night."

Kelly also cited social distancing in airports and on planes, saying that the airline would not book full planes, so that people could spread out more.

"I don't think the risk on an airplane is any greater risk than anywhere else," Kelly said. "It's as safe as an environment as you're going to find."

To prevent anyone with the virus, including those who are not experiencing symptoms, from spreading it to others, Southwest, alongside other major flight companies have announced they will require passengers to wear masks on board.

Passenger numbers have slowly been increasing over the past 10 days, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration. Kelly suggested that airlines could be past the worst of the crisis.

"I think we've seen the bottom here in April," he said. "Each week after the first week of April has gotten successively better. I think May will be better than April was, and I don't think June will be a good month, but hopefully it will be a bit better than May."

"And then we're looking forward to July and August, and we'll just have to see," he added. "There are bookings in place. But those could easily be canceled."

Business Insider