Virgin committed to COVID-19 safety

With concerns about the spread of COVID-19 foremost on the minds of travellers, Virgin Atlantic has spared no expense to ensure passenger safety remains paramount to its service within the Caribbean.

This assurance came from Virgin Atlantic’s Regional Business Development Manager, Sean Edwards, as he took media personnel on a tour of one of the airline’s Boeing 787-9 planes on Sunday.

He said stringent cleaning routines were in place for all incoming and outgoing flights, with the cabins of each plane going through multiple stages of disinfecting before passengers are allowed onboard.

“Now, also on board, we have the Wellness Pack that we offer our clients. This contains three facemasks, hand sanitizer, and some wipes which give you the sense of security whenever you are on-board,” Edwards said.

Virgin Atlantic also recently took the extra step to provide free COVID-19 insurance coverage for travellers, through to March 2021.

Despite the massive downturn in world travel in recent months, traveller interest in booking flights out of the island has been growing steadily. Edwards admitted that initially flights were not as heavily booked as they usually would be for this time of year, but said client interest was bouncing back for flights to and from Europe.

“It’s been very good. Our flight going out [Sunday] is very busy, so I would say that, in all, persons are willing to come back to Barbados slowly but surely. But it all goes back to the confidence level, with the COVID insurance helping to create that level of confidence with the passengers. I would say Barbados is doing a fabulous job with promoting itself, our borders are open, and we are welcoming all the tourists from the UK and Europe,” he said.

First time travellers to Barbados, Allison Ashton and her daughter who has the same name, said the new protocols in place with Virgin Atlantic were indeed different from the norm, but were well planned out and easy to follow.

Speaking to the media before their return flight on Sunday, Ashton said she and her daughter found the experience very satisfactory.

“I went on the website and saw all of the government protocols and we knew we needed to get a test in the UK first, but even coming through the airport and providing all of the documentation, it was all really straightforward. It’s what we need to do in this current climate,” she said.

With Barbados not being on the list of countries with quarantine restrictions on arrival in the UK, travellers are free to travel from the island directly to Heathrow Airport without requiring either a COVID-19 test before departure or to self-isolate for two weeks. (SB)