Naomi Campbell, Erykah Badu set trend with hazmat suits for air travel, and Canadian firm snags orders for 50,000

Reusable, weighing less than 1.35kg (2.98lb) and with anti-fogging helmet that makes you look like a space movie extra, crowdfunded hazmat suit has made fliers sit up

It has also drawn the attention of medics, hairstylists, even teachers. More colours and sizes are coming. Just don’t expect to make small talk in that helmet

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A company in Toronto, Canada, has launched an astronaut-style hazmat suit for anxious fliers to wear during the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 2:00am, 18 Jul 2020Updated: 7:52pm, 18 Jul 2020

After the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended the widespread use of face masks to help slow the spread of Covid-19, the minimalist medical mask quickly got reimagined as a fashion accessory.

Then, model Naomi Campbell – a famous germaphobe – and musician Erykah Badu stepped it up a notch, sporting custom hazmat suits for stylish social distancing. With the coronavirus pandemic showing no sign of slowing, travellers are taking note.

Yezin Al-Qaysi says haute hazmats are just the thing to make flying feel safe again.

In mid-April, the co-founder of VYZR Technologies, a company in Toronto, Canada, specialising in personal protective gear, launched a new product called the BioVYZR via crowdfunding site Indiegogo.

The US$250, futuristic-looking outer layer resembles the top half of an astronaut’s uniform, with anti-fogging “windows” and a built-in, hospital-grade air-purifying device.

Paranoid fliers were quick to scoop it up, pre-ordering about 50,000 suits and raising US$400,000 for the company. The first batch is set to be delivered by the end of July.