Silicon Valley’s Airport Deploys Health and Safety Measures to Protect Passengers and Employees
Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has invested heavily in enhancing its facilities to help travelers feel confident about their health when traveling through SJC. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, SJC staff have been working around the clock to implement new health and safety measures to protect all airport users.
From curb to gate and into the aircraft, each person is required to wear a face covering. New health and safety measures throughout the airport include:
More than 600 social distancing signs, stickers and floor decals placed in high traffic areas in the airport to remind passengers to remain six feet apart;
Roughly 200 plexiglass shields installed at ticket counters and boarding gate podiums to protect passengers and employees during interactions;
Partitions fabricated and placed between sinks in all restrooms to provide an extra layer of protection;
Hand sanitizing stations available in high-touch point areas throughout the terminals.
Due to the increased demand for health and safety equipment driven by COVID-19, many sanitizing items were nearly impossible to find. SJC’s Facilities and Engineering team employed the Silicon Valley way of ingenuity, designing and fabricating its own hand sanitizing fixtures and plexiglass shields. Creative solutions like this have allowed SJC to respond with urgency, and save on costs by building the products in-house.
In addition to routine cleanings that meet or exceed CDC guidance, the Airport custodial team uses multiple electrostatic sprayers daily to clean hard-to-reach areas such as, in-between holdroom seats, keyboards at the ticket counters and other locations throughout the Airport.
To capture the newly enhanced journey within the airport, the Airport Operations Team created a video that followed a passenger arriving at the curb, checking in at the ticketing area, going through the TSA Checkpoint, arriving at the boarding gate and then back again. The video’s intent was to instill confidence in passengers as they return to travel by showcasing the health and safety measures implemented throughout the airport.
In addition to the video, travelers at SJC now hear reminders to keep six feet apart and wear face coverings by three original songs played throughout the terminals. Local recording artist, Nick Gallant, who is also a frequent SJC flyer, partnered with Silicon Valley’s Airport and wrote and recorded these unique, upbeat reminders to passengers and employees about what they can do to help make it safe for more travel to resume.