When it comes to feeling confident about air travel, knowing what to expect from your experience plays a critical role. With expanding travel guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, travelers making 2021 travel plans will face new scenarios—both before takeoff and once in the air.
“Vaccination progress and the prospect of traveling again is undoubtedly exciting, but when it comes to planning and actually taking a trip, a lot has changed in the traveler experience—and not knowing what to expect or where to turn for up-to-date information can impact travelers’ confidence in returning to the skies,” says Jen Moyse, Senior Director of Product at TripIt.
In a TripIt survey of almost 2,000 travelers conducted this month, more than half (51 percent) of travelers said airlines having procedures in place to reduce infection spread, such as mask requirements and reduced capacity on flights, make them feel more comfortable with flying again.
In the same survey, almost half (46 percent) of travelers said airport procedures—including social distancing guidelines and sanitation procedures—help them feel more comfortable taking a flight.
“Vaccination progress and the prospect of traveling again is undoubtedly exciting, but when it comes to planning and actually taking a trip, a lot has changed in the traveler experience.” - Jen Moyse, Senior Director of Product at TripIt
Keeping track of which airline is blocking middle seats and the amenities available at any given airport is a lot to stay on top of. Today, we’re announcing that two TripIt features—COVID-19 travel guidance and Interactive Airport Maps—now offer additional guidance. You can learn more about these enhancements below.
Airline-specific COVID-19 travel guidance
When you’re ready to return to the skies, we’ve added airline-specific COVID-19 travel guidance in the TripIt app. This includes information on your flight’s enhanced cleaning procedures, middle seat policy, health documentation requirements, food and beverage service, and more. You can check out this feature by tapping the guidebook button from the trip itinerary screen. This information comes from our partner Riskline.
For the airlines you’re flying, TripIt will show you COVID-19 related guidance including:
- Relevant information regarding masks, health documentation, and temperature scans
- Your airline’s blocked middle seat policy
- Availability of food and beverage service
- Information around enhanced cleaning measures and HEPA filters
Who has access to airline-specific COVID-19 travel guidance?
This information is available to all TripIt users in the TripIt Android and iOS mobile apps. Be sure your app is updated to the latest version. Airline-specific COVID-19 travel guidance is currently available for 77 airlines, and we plan to add more in the future.
What else does the COVID-19 travel guidance feature offer?
Our survey data also show that 42 percent of travelers are concerned about staying up to date on travel restrictions and guidelines. To help keep you informed, TripIt offers destination-specific COVID-19 travel guidance as well for the places you’re planning to visit. You can find COVID-19 travel guidance when you view a trip itinerary in TripIt. You will notice a guidebook button on your trip summary screen (above the edit button). Tap the guidebook to see additional information to help you prepare for your travels.
As a TripIt Pro user, you can search the feature to find this information for destinations you’re planning to visit without needing them to be part of a TripIt itinerary. This includes current infection rates, quarantine rules upon arrival, testing requirements, and other information you need to know before visiting the area. You can find the feature in the Pro tab of the app.
Read more: Travel Has Changed Over the Past Year: Here’s How TripIt Has Kept Up
COVID-19 testing (and more) in Interactive Airport Maps
Interactive Airport Maps in TripIt Pro give you everything you need to quickly and easily navigate your way around the airport, with step-by-step directions, walking times, search options, and more.
Now the Interactive Airport Maps feature offers information about on-site amenities related to health and safety as well. For available airports, TripIt Pro users can search interactive maps for the locations of COVID-19 testing sites, stores that sell face coverings, hand sanitizer stations, and personal protective equipment (PPE) vending machines—all right in the app.
“We know that travel can be a stressful experience—never mind during a pandemic,” says Moyse. “TripIt is focused on adding features and enhancements that can help relieve some of that stress by making it easier to find the information you need before and while on your trip.”
How does it work?
Within the flight details screen under Airports, you’ll see airport maps for your departure, layover, and arrival airports. Select an airport map that is labeled Pro to see an interactive map of the airport. There you can search for these health- and safety-related amenities. For example, you can enter “COVID-19” for testing sites, “hand sanitizer” for stations, “mask” for shops selling face coverings, and “PPE” for PPE vending machines.
Interactive airport maps are available to TripIt Pro users for more than 105 global airports.
So, the next time you’re preparing to travel, you can consult the TripIt app to find need-to-know information—like whether your airline requires you to provide health documentation or if you can get a COVID test upon arrival at your destination airport. From planning to landing, we hope to make navigating your trips as seamless as possible.
Methodology: TripIt surveyed 1,960 U.S.-based users to understand their 2021 travel plans. The survey took place in April 2021.
