'Smart Bathrooms' at DFW and What Else to Expect During Thanksgiving Travel

Nov. 16—Thanksgiving travelers are sure to encounter some stresses as they hit the road — or take to the skies — during the COVID era.

But they also may find some new creature comforts that perhaps wouldn't have been invented, if not for the pandemic.

Among those comforts are the "smart bathrooms" being installed at DFW Airport.

The airport, which is jointly owned by the cities of Fort Worth and Dallas, borrowed an idea from its parking garages and is installing tiny LED lights above some toilet stalls so that patrons can tell if a stall is occupied without touching the door. (The light is green if the stall is available, red if it's occupied.)

Bathrooms also now feature digital screens at the entrances, to help travelers determine how many spaces are available in the restroom without having to step inside. The idea is to prevent people from lining up inside the bathroom to wait for a stall.

"This will be a Thanksgiving holiday travel season like none other, and DFW Airport is working daily to ensure it is 'Clean. Safe. Ready.' for the anticipated thousands of daily visitors," Bill Begley, DFW Airport spokesman, said in an email.

How many Americans will travel for Thanksgiving

Despite warnings from health officials that Thanksgiving travel could dramatically increase the spread of COVID, about 50 million Americans are nonetheless expected to hit the roads and take to the skies.

"While it is hard to predict this year's passenger volumes, we anticipate more than 1.3 million passengers to travel to, from and through DFW Airport during the traditional Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which is Nov. 20 through Nov. 30," Begley said.

The number of passengers expected to travel through DFW is about 65% of the level from the Thanksgiving travel period in 2019.

In Texas, about 3.8 million people are expected to travel, well below last year's level of 4.2 million in-state travelers, according to the travel club AAA.

Most holiday revelers in Texas and across the United States will travel by car.

"The decision to travel is a personal one," Kent Livesay, AAA Texas vice president and general manager, said in an email. "For those who are considering making a trip, the majority will go by car, which provides the flexibility to modify holiday travel plans up until the day of departure."

Tips before you travel

Residents who are traveling out of state should research local travel restrictions, COVID testing and quarantine requirements. For example, travelers to New Mexico should be aware that visitors from any state except Vermont — the only state New Mexico doesn't consider high-risk — are expected to quarantine for 14 days.

AAA operates TripTik.AAA.com, where visitors can plug in their planned travel route into a map, and get a rundown of COVID requirements along the way.

The Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving is expected to be the busiest time on road, which could create congestion levels 30% higher than normal, according to INRIX, a company that collects data from mobile navigation applications such as Google Waze.

"Though fewer people will be traveling this Thanksgiving, we expect more holiday drivers than we had over the last few holidays during COVID-19," said Bob Pishue, INRIX transportation analyst. "Drivers should plan alternate routes and departure times to avoid traffic jams."

Motorists also will find the lowest gas prices in years. Statewide, gas prices are about 50 cents per gallon cheaper than this time last year, according to AAA.

Busiest days to fly

In the skies, AAA projects that Thanksgiving air travel volume will be half its previous levels, with only 2.4 million airplane travelers nationwide.

American Airlines expects to operate nearly 41,000 flights worldwide, including 7,297 departures at DFW, from Nov. 20 through Dec. 2, an airline spokeswoman said. That's about 55% the 74,396 flights American scheduled during Thanksgiving last year.

Popular destinations include Florida, Mexico and ski destinations such as Colorado.

The busiest days are expected to be Nov. 28 and 29 — the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving. More than 4,100 flights are scheduled on each of those days.

More DFW Airport touchless features

At DFW Airport, the emphasis is on making as much of the passenger terminals as touchless as possible.

Nearly 140 restrooms have been equipped with the "smart bathroom" technology, including the LED lights above stalls, officials said.

The airport has also added auto soap dispensers, single-touch paper towel dispensers, auto faucets and other touchless features to its restrooms — and increased the frequency in which cleaning crews visit the bathroom areas.

But other, even more expensive steps have been taken, too.

The airport board of directors has spent millions of dollars battling COVID, including the ongoing installation of a new, $5.4 million heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that uses ultraviolet C light technology to kill airborne virus particles.

The HVAC system is being installed in terminals A, B, D and E and the Rental Car Center. The equipment is installed within the existing HVAC system, and the public isn't exposed to ultraviolet C light.

A "cleaning strike team" of 165 workers has been designated to frequently clean areas subject to touching by the public, including seats, door handles, elevator buttons, SkyLink train interiors and touchscreens. The crews can use electrostatic sprayers to help sanitize public spaces.

The airport has contractors on-call, in the event that an emergency decontamination needs to take place on airport property.

Also, for those who haven't flown recently, it's important to remember that face masks are required throughout the airport property, and on board aircraft.

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