How we are supporting businesses during COVID-19: an interview with David Capaldi Managing Director of Air Thrill in Catford

How has the Council supported Air Thrill during COVID-19?

Air Thrill received a Small Business Grant which has helped us put measures in place so we can safely reopen to the public. It enabled us to buy specialist cleaning equipment so we can deep clean the facilities between each session and thermal heat detection cameras so we can check people’s temperatures before they enter.

How has COVID-19 affected your business?

Like everyone in our sector we were forced to close our doors back in March. We remained closed for nearly five months until we were allowed to reopen our doors to families again.

We’ve seen a big reduction in the number of people visiting us and unfortunately due to low demand we’ve only been able to open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s.

We’ve also had to reduce the number of daily sessions that we can offer so that the facilities can be deep cleaned in between each session. This will continue to affect our business in the long term, but during this pandemic our priority is to provide a safe environment for families.

How have you had to adapt your business since reopening?

In addition to some of the measures already mentioned, customers need to book a timed slot in advance so we can maintain a safe number of people inside.

We’ve also had to close the ball pit because it’s impossible to clean 250,000 at the end of each session! So for now we’ve turned it into a nerf guns activity area.

We hope that public confidence in the measures that we have put in place will see an increase in the number of people visiting us in the near future.