NEW SAFETY MEASURES

2020 will be a memorable year, that's for sure.

Like most businesses in Quebec, the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are forcing us to overcome many challenges and to change how we operate. 2020 is also special and significant, as it’s been 30 years since we started sharing our passion and making people live a skydiving experience that is different, professional, unforgettable, but, above all, safe!

Here are the measures we’re putting in place to limit the transmission risks of Covid-19 and to ensure the safety of all employees, skydivers, customers and guests who will visit our two skydiving centers this summer.

GENERAL HEALTH MEASURES APPLICABLE TO EVERYONE WHO IS VISITING PARACHUTE MONTREAL

The following measures will be regularly reviewed and updated if need be.

• The majority of our activities will now take place outside. We’ve also changed the way we operate to minimize contacts between different groups and with different employees.
• An employee will be outside to welcome everyone that arrives at Parachute Montreal. Each person’s temperature will be taken with a contactless thermometer. It will also be mandatory to complete a health questionnaire before accessing the site and/or our outdoor facilities.
• Several hand washing and disinfection stations have been installed inside and outside. Washing or disinfecting your hands will be mandatory before entering the building.
• Surfaces that are often touched will be disinfected regularly and/or after each use (door handles, switches, bathrooms, pencils, payment terminals, computer mice and keyboards, belts and grab bars in planes and on ground simulators, etc.).
• Wearing a mask will be mandatory at all times indoors. It will not be mandatory outside, unless the physical distance of two meters cannot be respected. Masks that can be tied behind the head and that are strong enough to stay in place during freefall can be purchased. Physical distancing will be encouraged even between people wearing masks.
• Only five customers will be admitted at the same time inside to register.
• A strict 14-day quarantine policy will apply for staff members with flu symptoms, who have been in contact with someone infected by Covid-19 or who have traveled outside of Canada.
• Plexiglas screens are installed at the reception to ensure the safety of our employees and customers.
• Hugs and high fives with the instructors or between jumpers are not allowed to limit physical contacts.

SPECIFIC HEALTH MEASURES APPLICABLE TO TANDEM CUSTOMERS

The following measures will be regularly reviewed and updated if need be.

• We reduced the daily number of reservations that we accept by around 50% and each customer doing a tandem jump is allowed to bring a maximum of two guests, to limit the number of people on site.
• Aside from registration and payment, all stages of the tandem jump will be completed outside. This includes training, gearing-up (harness adjustment), filming interviews before and after the jump (for those who purchased a video/photo package), as well as removing the harness.
• In addition to being mandatory at all times indoors, wearing a mask will be mandatory outside from the gearing-up stage until all the equipment has been removed after the jump. This applies to tandem passengers and instructors, who will also be required to wear a full-face helmet.
• Upon arrival, please go to the outdoor check-in table, where one of our employees will greet you (make sure you are wearing a mask for this). It is mandatory to wear a mask as soon as you arrive at the skydiving center (during the registration process, during the jump, at all times inside the building and when the two-meter distancing rule cannot be respected outside).
• Your mask must be fixed in a sufficiently tight manner around the head in order to stay in place during freefall. A mask that is fixed to the head with ties or strings behind the ears will not stay in place. In the event that your mask is not tight enough to stay in place during freefall, you will need to buy one on site for $10. In any case, we still ask you to arrive on site with a mask, because it is mandatory to wear it upon your arrival.
• Exceptionally, jumpsuits will not be provided for tandem passengers. Therefore, customers will have to dress appropriately for the activity, i.e. comfortable and tight sports clothes that are adapted to the weather. Please note that clothing can be soiled during landing.
• Instructors must wash or disinfect their hands before and after gearing up the passenger as well as before and after removing the harness.
• Freefall goggles will be disinfected between each customer.
• Tandem customers will not be able to watch their video on site to limit the number of people in the building.
• Our ground photography service will continue to be offered.

SPECIFIC HEALTH MEASURES APPLICABLE TO LICENSED SKYDIVERS

Skydiving safety measures should never be sacrificed for Covid-19 health measures. Jumpers are required to check their equipment, to review emergency procedures and to seek assistance from an instructor or from the director of operations if they don’t feel safe or confortable in any given situation.

The following measures will be regularly reviewed and updated if need be.

• All jumpers must have a mask that is strong enough to stay in place during freefall, wear it inside at all times and outside when the two-meter distance rule cannot be respected (ground simulators, boarding area, altitude climb in the plane, exit from the plane, freefall, etc.).
• The manifest will be accessible via a window outside to avoid going in the building.
• Accompanying persons will not be allowed for regular jumpers, to limit the number of people on site.
• Jumpers who have their own equipment must commit to making a minimum of three jumps, with exceptions, and jumpers who do not have their equipment must commit to making a minimum of two jumps, with exceptions. Examples of exceptions: weather, winds, weekdays when fewer than two or three loads are scheduled, etc.
• Jumpers who pack their own parachute will have to do it outside and will be required to respect a physical distance of two meters between each other. Parachute Montreal packers will remain available. They will also be required to respect the two-meter physical distancing rule.
• The interior of the building will be a transitional zone accessible only to go to the bathroom, to pick-up your rental gear and to drop-off/pick-up your parachute if it’s being packed by one of our employees. So we recommend bringing everything you’ll need to be comfortable outside (ex. a tarp and a heavy object to fix your harness to the ground when packing, a tent or a parasol for shade, a cooler for your food and drinks, folding chairs, etc.). You will need to keep your equipment and all your things outside.
• Classroom computers cannot be used, in order to limit the number of people in the building.
• Dirt dive practices must be performed without contact and with a distance of two meters between each skydiver.

SPECIFIC HEALTH MEASURES APPLICABLE TO STUDENTS (PFF AND RW)

The following measures will be regularly reviewed and updated if need be.

• Students must have a mask that is strong enough to stay in place during freefall, wear it inside at all times and outside when the two-meter distance rule cannot be respected. The mask must be considered as a piece of equipment, like the altimeter, for example. It must be worn from the gearing up stage and subsequently during all stages of the jump.
• The first jump theory course (PFF) will be given outside (weather permitting). If it should happen inside, wearing a mask will be mandatory for everyone. The classroom and all the equipment used will be disinfected before and after usage.
• Accompanying persons will not be allowed for students, to limit the number of people on site.
• Students must keep the same equipment throughout the day, including their parachute. All the equipment used will be disinfected at the end of the day (altimeters, helmets, radios, life jackets, lead belts, jumpsuits, parachutes, etc.).
• The instructor will disinfect keyboards, computer mice and other computer equipment or teaching aids used to debrief jumps after each use.

We can't wait to see you in the sky again! The Parachute Montreal team