Running head: CRITICAL THOUGHT EXERCISE
Critical Thought Exercise
Critical Thought Exercise
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CRITICAL THOUGHT EXERCISE
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Air travel has been down by more than 85% due to the recent Coronavirus pandemic
according to the Associated Press in August 2020 (Sweet, 2020). The issue the Coronavirus
presented was the spread of the virus in a confined space which resulted in far less air travelers
as the course of the pandemic went on. Travelers were now mandated to wear masks on flights,
which was a huge contrast to how air travel was conducted pre-pandemic. While this was a huge
shock for travelers that made headlines across the nation due to travelers who did not cooperate,
air travel in general had far more difficult times in the past 100 years.
1920 was the year that air travel aircraft were made possible for travelers. Due to the
limitation in technology, in the 1920’s, air travel was slower than travelling by train while being
much louder, colder, and bumpier (Sweet, 2020). In the 1930’s, air travel saw a shift in their
general population. The average person couldn’t afford to travel by air. In the 1930’s, air travel
was reserved for the wealthy (Sweet, 2020). However, this did quickly change as just four years
later, there were 75 times more air travel passengers that were documented. The 50’s saw the
airlines phasing out sleeper services (Sweet, 2020). This was due to aircraft becoming much
faster than before, ruling the bed services to become a safety hazard. In 1965, the United States
developed a network of overlapping radars for planes, allowing advance air traffic control and
making flights safer (Sweet, 2020). A major feature that occurred in 1984 was the approval of
the pre-flight safety demonstration videos by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA. This
was a critical step in educating passengers of information that would be helpful in the case of an
emergency. In 1988, more than 80% of airlines banned the use of tobacco and smoking in planes
during flights (Sweet, 2020). This was huge for the safety of fellow passengers as the dangers of
secondhand smoke were becoming more known with the correct data to support the claim. In
2001, airports across the entire world saw heightened security measures due to the tragic events
CRITICAL THOUGHT EXERCISE
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of 9/11. All of the heightened security measures were steps that have been overlooked or
prolonged for way too long. In 2006, airlines limited the amount of liquid a passenger could
bring on board due to a possible explosive threat that was found in the United Kingdom (Sweet,
2020). At first when this policy rolled out, it was a hassle for passengers as there were scenarios
where they would have to throw away brand new toiletry or souvenirs such as alcohol and
others. However, the importance of these policies far outweighs the minor hassles that the
passengers were faced. Since then, the TSA has continuously heightened security measures from
full body scan machines to an increased number of employees across the airports that they serve
(Sweet, 2020).
Comparing air travel to the past 100 years should make air travelers feel thankful as
today’s standards are much safer and more refined. It is hardly comparable and air travelers
shouldn’t face the stress or risks that they once did a century ago. While there are still risks that
we face today, the direction of the safety of air travel is heading towards the correct way rather
than the opposite. While technology can work with us or against us depending on the situation,
air travel has reaped the benefits of the advancement of technology and its offerings.
References
CRITICAL THOUGHT EXERCISE
Sweet, J. (2020, December 30). 50 ways air travel has changed over the last 100 years. Stacker.
https://stacker.com/stories/6060/50-ways-air-travel-has-changed-over-last-100-years.
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