Qantas will provide facemasks to passengers as part of plans to resume flying within Australia as travel restrictions are lifted.
But the airline will not impose social distancing on aircraft.
The changes will be introduced from June 12 “to ensure a safe travel environment and give extra peace of mind”.
Hand sanitising stations and enhanced aircraft cleaning will be among the measures in addition to facemasks provided to all passengers.
However, Qantas said: “While not mandatory from a safety point of view, they are recommended to be worn in the interests of everyone’s peace of mind.”
Once seated, passengers will be asked to limit their movement around the cabin.
Sequenced boarding and disembarkation will be in place to minimise crowding as part of the airline’s ‘Fly Well’ initiative.
The carrier’s medical director, Dr Ian Hosegood, said: “The data shows that actual risk of catching coronavirus on an aircraft is already extremely low.
“That’s due to a combination of factors, including the cabin air filtration system, the fact people don’t sit face-to-face and the high backs of aircraft seats acting as a physical barrier.
“As far as the virus goes, an aircraft cabin is a very different environment to other forms of public transport.
“Social distancing on an aircraft isn’t practical the way it is on the ground, and given the low transmission risk on board, we don’t believe it’s necessary in order to be safe. The extra measures we’re putting place will reduce the risk even further.”
Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said: “Safety is absolutely core to how we operate and that applies to new challenges like managing the risk of coronavirus so people can fly with confidence.
“From the early rescue flights we operated right into Wuhan and then more recently bringing Australians back from places like the US and Europe, we have a lot of experience at creating a safe cabin environment for passengers and crew.
“We’re relying on the co-operation of passengers to help make these changes work for everyone’s benefit, and we thank them in advance for that.
“Given the great job Australians have done at flattening the curve, we’re confident they’ll respond positively to these temporary changes to how we fly.
“We’ll continue to work with government and monitor the rollout of these measures closely, which are designed with safety in mind and help people feel comfortable given the new norms that have emerged in response to the coronavirus crisis.”
