Flights are on the rise at Baton Rouge Metro Airport (BTR) after last year’s COVID-19 flight reductions.
The April 2021 schedule for BTR includes 17.3 roundtrip flights per day when averaging peak and off-peak days, and 69,446 seats for the month. BTR flights are back to 80% of the April 2019 schedule.
American, Delta and United have been gradually increasing the number of flights at BTR in response to improving passenger traffic. In April, American is adding a third daily roundtrip flight from BTR to its Charlotte hub, which is in addition to their five daily roundtrip flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth. United is adding a fifth daily roundtrip flight to Houston InterContinental. Delta is up to five daily roundtrip flights to Atlanta. All three airlines have tentatively scheduled additional flight frequencies in May.
BTR and the airlines continue to follow strict cleaning and disinfecting protocols in the terminal and on the aircraft. High-touch surfaces at BTR are cleaned frequently with hospital-grade disinfectants, and disinfectant fogging is done in the terminal building at night. American, Delta and United utilize fogging by spraying an electrically-charged and safe to breathe disinfectant on interior aircraft surfaces before the physical cleaning process to ensure germs and viruses are eradicated.
HEPA filters on the aircraft capture at least 99.97% of airborne microbes by circulating the cabin air once every 2 to 4 minutes. As the filters purify the air on the inside of the aircraft, fresh air enters the engine compressor on the outside, making the cabin air much cleaner than the air in restaurants, bars, stores, or commercial buildings.
Federal law requires that masks be worn in the terminal and on the aircraft to further ensure the safety of passengers.