Measures and innovations in airport management for the resumption of tourism in the pandemic

Resumo

The travel restrictions imposed on air transport due to the pandemic have had socioeconomic impacts in different countries, in addition to the existing negative impacts on public health and the international economy. As airports are the departure points to tourist destinations, there is a need to re-democratize travel to cope with contagious diseases. The main objective of this exploratory study is to propose measures that enable the protection of travelers in airports to reduce or even eliminate travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Through a random literature review, as well as the identification of practical cases, this theoretical essay presents measures to contain the spread of respiratory diseases in airports at the strategic management level (such as the review of airport business models), tactical level (such as the identification of the airport innovation index and its priority areas of investment), and operational level (such as constant preventive actions upon the arrival of passengers, visitors, or employees at the airport). It is expected that these measures in airports will encourage safe air transport and the resumption of tourism.