Airport Alert: AAAE Joins Industry in Raising Concerns about Domestic Pre-Departure Testing
January 29, 2021
This afternoon AAAE joined others within the aviation, travel, and tourism industries to send a letter to the White House COVID-19 Recovery Team Coordinator that raised concerns about the possibility of a pre-departure testing requirement for domestic air travel. Since mid-week, senior officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been publicly stating that the agency is "actively looking at" requiring testing for domestic flights.
This potential effort would be a follow-on to the mandate that, as of January 26, required all international air passengers (ages 2 and above) to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result within three days before their flight to the United States and provide written documentation of their viral test results or proof of having recovered from COVID-19 to the airlines. If a passenger does not provide proof of a negative test or recovery or chooses not to take a viral test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger.
The coalition letter urges a "data-driven, risk-based and feasible" approach to public health measures and highlights concerns that a domestic testing mandate "would divert testing and financial resources away from more pressing public health priorities" and vulnerable populations.
The coalition highlighted the significant efforts airports have taken since the beginning of the pandemic to ensure the health and safety of our employees and the traveling public. The letter urged the COVID-19 response team and other relevant Federal agencies to seek input from the aviation and travel industry stakeholders before implementing any additional measures to ensure that these measures are feasible and effective.
This afternoon AAAE joined others within the aviation, travel, and tourism industries to send a letter to the White House COVID-19 Recovery Team Coordinator that raised concerns about the possibility of a pre-departure testing requirement for domestic air travel. Since mid-week, senior officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been publicly stating that the agency is "actively looking at" requiring testing for domestic flights.
This potential effort would be a follow-on to the mandate that, as of January 26, required all international air passengers (ages 2 and above) to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result within three days before their flight to the United States and provide written documentation of their viral test results or proof of having recovered from COVID-19 to the airlines. If a passenger does not provide proof of a negative test or recovery or chooses not to take a viral test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger.
The coalition letter urges a "data-driven, risk-based and feasible" approach to public health measures and highlights concerns that a domestic testing mandate "would divert testing and financial resources away from more pressing public health priorities" and vulnerable populations.
The coalition highlighted the significant efforts airports have taken since the beginning of the pandemic to ensure the health and safety of our employees and the traveling public. The letter urged the COVID-19 response team and other relevant Federal agencies to seek input from the aviation and travel industry stakeholders before implementing any additional measures to ensure that these measures are feasible and effective.
