British Airways and Lufthansa are the world's first COVID-19 Safety Rating certified companies.

British Airways and Lufthansa are the first airlines in the world to obtain COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating certification from the International Air Transport Rating Agency Skytrax.

Both airlines received 4 stars in terms of pandemic safety on board aircraft. The COVID-19 rating covers potential customer risks, as well as items at the airport or inside aircraft.

Detailed investigations and analyzes of the effectiveness and consistency of the measures they have implemented to ensure the implementation of COVID-19 safety and hygiene measures have been shown to be of the highest standards.

The analyzes were performed in the British Airways hub at London's Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and in the Lufthansa hub at Frankfurt Airport's Terminal 1.

The audit incorporates the relevant recommendations from the “IATA Health Safety Standards Checklist”, the “ICAO CART Guide” and is based on WHO recommendations.

4 stars at COVID-19 safety standards for British Airways and Lufthansa

Elements of contactless technology, passenger service, social distance protocols at check-in, boarding process, but also the landing process are verified.

Airline lounges are sanitized, allow for social distance and have secure food and beverage delivery systems.

Cleaning on board and in the cabin is done using UV sanitization techniques and scientifically evaluated disinfection treatments. Most catering service systems are adapted for this period of pandemic, the contact between passengers and crew being almost non-existent, at the same time being created increased food safety measures.

As part of the analysis, Skytrax uses ATP testing to measure surface contamination in high-impact areas of the airport and aircraft. ATP systems do not detect the virus directly, but can detect the presence of biological residues.

Given that Skytrax teams have to check a variety of flights to assess each airline's standards, the rating given to airlines takes into account each country's travel restrictions.

Following the evaluations carried out by Skytrax in Europe, the verification of the airlines from the Middle East and South America will follow, and at the end of the year the verifications of the companies from Asia and North America will start.

These assessments are part of the Skytrax Travel Safety program.