America’s Living Symbol of Freedom Authorized to Reopen by State and County Officials

San Diego CA— The USS Midway Museum will reopen to the general public on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 following clearance received from the governor of California and the County San Diego. Temporarily closed since March 16, the museum will adhere to all required health and safety protocols to protect guests, employees and volunteers.
“We are excited to once again share the magic of Midway with our guests,” said Mac McLaughlin, president and CEO of the USS Midway Museum. “However, we have done tremendous planning to ensure that when our guests return, we are providing them the safest experience possible through our extensive health and safety protocols.”
Visitors can again experience the legacy of the USS Midway, see firsthand the museum’s extensive collection of naval aircraft and be captivated by the ship’s award-winning audio tour. World famous Midway volunteers will bring the flight deck alive with mesmerizing accounts of launching and landing naval aircraft as well as stories of their adventures on the high seas.
In order to manage guest capacity, the Midway will use an online timed-ticketing system. Tickets must be purchased in advance on the museum’s website. Guests will choose a specific day and time to visit the ship. The tickets will be available in 30-minute window blocks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
“Through our timed-ticketing system, we’ll know exactly how many guests are onboard the Midway at any given time,” said Mark Berlin, Midway’s director of operations. “This will not only allow us to manage capacity, but also help us maintain the appropriate physical distancing for our visitors.”
To ensure guest safety, the Midway has incorporated a significant number of other protocols and guidelines outlined by local and state health officials, to include:

• Personal Protection – All guests and staff must wear appropriate face coverings while onboard the Midway.
• Temperature Checks – Touchless, non-evasive temperature checks will be conducted on guests and staff prior to entry.
• Physical Distancing – Guests will be reminded to maintain six-foot physical distancing through ‘Check Your 6’ signage and floor markers, along with monitoring by museum staff. To also assist with facilitating physical distancing, a unidirectional tour route has been established for the hangar deck and flight deck. Staff will monitor and assist with guest flow.
• Hygiene – More than 170 hand-sanitizer stations (more than doubling normal quantities) will be placed round the museum, along with an increase number of sanitizing-wipe dispenser locations. Hygiene signage will also be present throughout the ship.
• Cleaning – Dedicated museum cleaning staff will focus on constant cleaning of all high-touch locations and surfaces throughout the museum.
• Transmission Barriers – Plexi-barriers have been placed between urinals in the men’ restrooms and between sinks in both men’s and women’s restrooms. Plex-barrier are also installed at all point-of-sales locations. All plex-barriers will be constantly cleaned and sanitized.
• Contactless Payment – Credit card payment at all point-of-sales locations.
• Dining and Gift Shop – The Midway Marketplace will continue to serve pre-packaged sandwiches, salad, snacks and beverages in accordance with County COVID-19 food service guidelines. Tables in the open-air dining area for guests will be placed six feet apart and cleaned following each guest usage. The Midway’s gift shop has been reconfigured to allow for physical distancing and will be monitored by staff.
• Limited Experiences – The museum will initially focus the onboard guest experience to the flight deck and hangar deck upon reopening to maximize the health and safety of Midway visitors.

The onboard experience and expectations will be widely communicated to all guests through information available on the Midway’s website as well as through extensive signage at the museum and on the pier.