Edmonton is ‘Ready’ for Travel Recovery
In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada’s fifth biggest city, there’s an old saying that the city grew up learning to rely on itself. As Canada’s most northern major city situated hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from other major centres, Edmonton needs strong connections to Canada and the world beyond.
The distance means that air travel and air service is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. As the world began emerging from COVID-19 and learned to reconnect, Edmonton International Airport (EIA) employees knew the airport had to be ready. Ready to be there for passengers and airlines and ready to make sure they feel safe and comfortable with the travel experience. That’s the promise behind the campaign, EIA Ready, which the airport launched in early June.
EIA Ready complements the airport’s business plan dubbed Innovation Expansion, which prior to COVID-19 was focusing the airport on new passenger-centric technologies and approaches to operations. EIA Ready features enhanced cleaning and safety protocols within the airport with a goal of highlighting enhanced technologies already in place or still to come. This includes touchless technology now active at the Central Security entrance, where passengers scan their boarding passes off their personal devices.
High-touchpoint areas such as baggage carts, handrails, kiosk screens, and elevator buttons are cleaned at least four times every eight hours. In July, ahead of government regulations, all employees and passengers became required to wear masks or face coverings.
A creative brand was established for the program in-house. Information on EIA Ready has been communicated to the public via social media, website content, digital and static signage, and PA announcements, among others. All signage was designed with easily accessible iconography to ensure that all passengers would be able to understand the messaging.
Open communication and collaborative planning with airlines, concessionaires, and service providers have been essential components of the holistic program. For example, Alberta Health Services, the provincial agency that oversees health and medicine, partnered with EIA to have staff on-site to temperature check all arriving passengers from international destinations. Additionally, all in-terminal merchants and restaurants installed plexiglass barriers at payment areas to reduce the risk of viral spread.
Once these enhanced cleaning procedures were in place and underway, the next step EIA took was meeting with airline and travel industry partners to discuss passenger safety and how to assure travellers it is safe to fly. Multiple physically distant events were hosted at the airport with Canada’s primary air carriers to inspire travel planning while being mindful not to directly encourage bookings.
We know the benefits that come through air travel, so it is essential to help re-establish the bonds our community has created around the world. The world and our industry have changed, and we need to change along with it. Enhanced cleaning and transparent communications are critical for passengers.
EIA is ready; we hope you are too.