FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - Many people will be flying to South Florida soon for spring break and the Ultra Music Festival, so South Florida airports are cleaning and disinfecting to keep the coronavirus out.
Efforts to disinfect airports have been ramped up across the country. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, employees are wiping down surfaces twice as often.
“We do the hand rails because people’s hands are constantly touching them,” said an airport employee.
Employees are wiping down rails, washing windows and disinfecting seats a total of four times a day to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“We actually increase our frequency of cleaning and disinfecting,” said Stalin Flores who is in charge of the airport’s cleaning crews. “We went from two to almost four times per shift.”
With as many as 80,000 travelers passing through the airport in a day, germs can spread far and wide. For some, that means wearing face masks.
“We don’t know if it’s going to keep us safe, but yes, we’re trying to be safe,” said one traveler.
For others, it means traveling with personal hand wipes.
“It’s definitely been a big effect on, like, the country and stuff like that,” said Carmen Arrendondo, “but I don’t want to live in fear with it. I just want to be more careful.”
President Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence held a press conference Wednesday. They said they are encouraged that travelers across the country seem to be cautious.
Trump also met with airline executives at the White House, and he told reporters that passengers are being monitored.
“When people come in from certain areas, we’re doing checks, not only at the site of takeoff but at the site of landing,” Trump said.
The airplanes, along with the airports, are also being sanitized daily.
“We’ve stepped up our efforts to make sure the airplanes are clean and disinfected,” Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly.
However, some travelers are not concerned at all.
“I just think people are all hyped up about it,” said one traveler. “It’s the flu, basically.”
Airport officials promise to do their part and encourage travelers to do theirs as they monitor the virus’ spread.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” said airport spokesperson Greg Meyer. “I would encourage my family or anybody to travel anywhere, any time right now, as long as it’s not restricted by the [Center for Disease Control and Prevention] or the U.S. government.”
Doctors from Baptist Health South Florida addressed some confusion surrounding the coronavirus and gave some tips on how to help prevent its spread.
7News cameras captured a Transportation Security Administration agent wearing a face mask as he checked the IDs of passengers.
United Airlines announced on Wednesday they will be cutting flights in April by about 10%.
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