Qatar Airways has introduced full body protective gear for its flight attendants

• Qatar Airways' inflight crew will wear full body Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits from May 25.
• All passengers flying Qatar will have to wear face coverings inflight too.
• Other new measures designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus include business class meals being served on a tray instead of a table set up, with a cutlery wrap offered to passengers rather than individual cutlery service.

Qatar Airways has announced that all onboard staff will wear full body Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits from May 25.

This is a step up from the PPE that cabin crew have been wearing for the past few weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, such as gloves and face masks.

The measure comes as part of an array of new safety precautions designed to reduce interactions between passengers and crew.

From Monday, flight attendants will wear the full body suits over their uniforms, in addition to safety goggles, gloves, and a mask.

The move has been designed "to provide even greater reassurance to customers in addition to enhanced hygienic measures already in place," according to a press release sent to Insider.

However, it's not just cabin crew who will be required to dress to help limit the spread of the coronavirus; all passengers flying Qatar will have to wear face coverings inflight, and the airline recommends people bring their own. It's unclear whether anyone who doesn't have their own mask will be provided with one prior to boarding.

As well as the full body PPE for staff, further new protective measures include business class meals being served on a tray instead of a table set up, with a cutlery wrap offered to passengers rather than individual cutlery service.

Large bottles of hand sanitizer will also be placed in the galleys for both cabin crew and passengers, and everyone is asked to adhere to social distancing guidelines on board.

The airline said it's implementing social distancing during the boarding process too, and allocating passengers seats as far apart from each other as possible.

Still flying to over 30 destinations across the globe, Qatar Airways hopes that the new safety measures will help it grow its network in the coming months as the airline industry aims to return to life after the coronavirus lockdown.

"As an airline, we maintain the highest possible hygiene standards to ensure that we can fly people home safely during this time and provide even greater reassurance that safety is our number one priority," Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said.

Last week, Qatar Airways announced a new flexible booking policy that allowed unlimited and fare difference-free changes to bookings made before September 30, 2020.

However, as Business Insider's Thomas Pallini reported, it started rolling back some of these freedoms a few days later, removing some of the cheaper fares and adding new restrictions.

Read the original article on Insider