Published on Thursday, May 21, 2020

JetBlue blocking middle seat until July

JetBlue Airways says it will continue to block off middle seats into early July to help ease passengers' fears over Covid-19 air travel.

In-flight social distancing with an empty middle seat will be extended through the July 4 holiday, the airline said.

Families and groups traveling together will be allowed to use the middle seat.

On Embraer 190 regional jets with no middle seats, aisle seats will be blocked.

It forms part of JetBlue's 'Safety from the Ground Up' program which includes enhanced aircraft cleaning before every flight, concentrating on high-touch surfaces like tray tables and armrests.

More rigorous cleaning will also take place at check-in desk counters.

All crew and passengers must wear face masks or coverings.

JetBlue was the first carrier to mandate this and all other airlines have introduced a similar policy.

"All of these items work in concert with each other," said JetBlue president and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty.

Other measures include temperature checks for crewmembers and electrostatic aircraft fogging from next month.

United Airlines is also introducing electrostatic spraying and employee temperature checks as part of fresh safety measures announced this week.