During the extraordinary situation created by the outbreak of COVID-19, airline, hospitality and manufacturing companies are balancing between keeping their staff safe from infection and striving to minimise business disruption by reassuring customers about the safety and hygiene of their products and services.
IndiGo Airlines, for example, has taken measure to ensure compliance with the best advice from medical authorities and the government. Its ground staff at international terminals have been equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, and shoe covers which are disposed of at regular intervals.
While the crew on all its aircraft are following personal protective measures as well. Crew members aboard international flights wear PPE that is changed every 8 hours.
“And because this disease is most easily transmitted through surfaces, each and every aircraft is cleansed with cleaning agents and disinfectants that are approved by the WHO and Airbus,” Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said in a letter.
Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) of the Tata Group, in light of the current situation, has implemented additional precautionary hygiene measures across its hotels based on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advisory and guidelines for prevention and transmission.
“This includes training our associates to the protocol prescribed by the Government of India, sanitization of all areas, increased access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers at prominent locations and body temperature checks for everyone visiting our premises using non-invasive laser thermometers,” an IHCL spokesperson said.
As mandated, the company is notifying local authorities on travellers coming from affected countries.
Similarly, Marriott International is taking precautions to ensure a healthy stay at any of its hotels across the globe.
“In this climate I want you to know that the safety of our guests and associates is our top priority,” said Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International, in a message.
“Given the impact of COVID-19 on how we work, socialise and travel, we have been adapting our cancellation policy over the past several weeks to the evolving nature of this epidemic. Now, we are updating our policy to provide our customers the most flexibility we can offer during these challenging times,” he said.
Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) has developed a three-tier response plan based on incidence of infection in cities it operates. The company has suspended all international travel by executives. For domestic travel involving public transport such as road, rail and air, prior approval is mandatory.
“Visits to TML sites have been restricted and pregnant women and employees with chronic respiratory/cardiac illness have been advised to work from home,” Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD, TML, said in a letter.
“Classroom training, meetings with more than 20, internal and external events have been suspended and distance between seats in the canteens have been increased and staggered timings have been introduced to prevent crowding,” he said,
The company has switched to virtual meetings and biometric attendance system has been replaced by card swipe.
