DFW Airport, Dallas Love Field step up cleaning efforts amid coronavirus concerns

DALLAS - Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has expanded its “enhanced cleaning” to all terminals in the wake of growing concerns over the coronavirus.

Enhanced cleaning has been happening in the international terminal, but with Spring Break getting started for many people across the country, preventing the spread of the virus is key.

For travelers, hand sanitizer is the trendy travel accessory at DFW as people try to protect themselves from the spread of coronavirus while flying.

“We definitely gave the kids a run down before we came to the airport. We said, ‘Okay, we’re going to wipe everything down. We’re going to not try to touch anything,’” said traveler India Davis.

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Davis, her husband and two kids are going skiing and snowboarding in Utah.

“Because we’re not traveling internationally, we kind of thought we would still be in the clear,” Davis said.

But there’s still a strategy for the flight.

“I have the wipes in my backpack. My plan is, once everybody’s on the plane and we sit down, to wipe the hand rests and then anything that would be around the tray table and just kind of keep them in place,” Davis said.

DFW Airport released a video showing how custodians are wiping down “high touch point areas,” like touch screens and railings.

The airport started doing so in the international terminal, Terminal D, in January, and expanded the enhanced cleaning efforts to all five terminals, buses and Skylink. There are also more stations where people can sanitize their hands.

Following a town hall on Friday, U.S. Rep Colin Allred (D – Dallas) also said proper screening will be key.

“I know the airport itself has procedures that they're following but we're going to have to work closely with them to make sure their screening process is as effective as possible and I do think we have some work to do there,” Allred said.

Dallas Love Field was also taking precaution — doing more detailed cleaning during overnight hours, sanitizing surfaces people touch and adding those same hand sanitizing stations.

A spokesperson for the airport says staff ordered multiple brands of wipes and sanitizers before the COVID-19 outbreak.