Local airport touts "a new level of clean"

With businesses reopening and the summer travel season here, Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport is welcoming back passengers with what it calls, "a new level of clean."

A recent traveler survey helped guide many of the airport's new safety protocols put in place over the last three months, which have not been kind to the country's airline industry.

"Once the pandemic hit, travel pretty much went off a cliff, across the country we saw 95-percent less passengers at every airport in the country," says Airport Director Marty Piette.

Now, as they begin to see an uptick in travel, airports like Green Bay Austin Straubel International want passengers to know the airport has never been cleaner.

"All of our housekeeping staff has received additional training on proper cleaning and sanitizing methods, including mask and glove use and disposal, as well as social distancing practices, our terminal staff has staggered their schedules, they're working in 2-person teams to limit contact, we also had a contractor disinfect all of the public areas of the terminal building and applied what's known as EnviroShield to all of those areas, we'll continue to do that as we move on," says Piette.

According to a passenger survey conducted by the airport in May, 81-percent of leisure travelers said they would begin traveling immediately or within three months.

On the business travel side, 50-percent expect to travel within three months.

Elected officials touted the airport's new safety protocols, including the upcoming installation of permanent hand sanitizing stations, and a UVC handrail sterilizing system for escalators.

"And for us to be able to coexist with COVID is really important for us to make sure that we build that consumer confidence within the public so they can travel safely," says Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach

"I think it's because of the professionalism and the hard work of everyone at the airport that our local community trusts that they can start to fly again and they can be safe," adds Rep. Mike Gallagher, (R) Wisconsin.

The airport survey also found 83-percent of passengers expect the airlines to provide wipes and sanitizer in seat pockets, and 73-percent expect planes to be deep-cleaned daily.

The airport says the survey has been shared with the airlines serving the Green Bay area.