United to improve airflow, filtration, board, deplane fewer passengers at once

United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL, -3.66% announced ways it was looking to make air travel safer for passengers, through improving air flow and filtration and limiting the number of passengers that can board and deplane at a time. The air carrier said it will now maximize air flow volume for all high-efficiency particular rate (HEPA) filtration systems during the boarding and deplaning process. The company said the air conditioning systems on its aircraft recirculates the air every 2 to 3 minutes and removes 99.97% of particles, including viruses and bacteria. United said it was also taking steps to limit the number of passengers on its planes, saying only 15% of its flights had more than 70% of the seats filled. In addition, the company said it would board fewer customers at a time and will deplane in groups of five rows at a time. The stock, which fell 3.5% in morning trading, has tumbled 62.8% year to date, while the U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS, -2.19% has dropped 48.8% and the S&P 500 SPX, 0.41% has gained 0.1%.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/united-airlines-to-improve-airflow-and-filtration-to-board-and-deplane-fewer-passengers-at-a-time-2020-07-20