Airport Alert: Administration to Stop Funneling International Arrivals Through 15 U.S. Airports
September 10, 2020
As of September 14, 2020, travelers arriving in the United States from China, Iran, the European Union (Schengen zone), the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Brazil will no longer have to go through enhanced health screenings and temperature checks at the 15 designated funneling airports or provide contact information to local health officials. This enhanced screening began in January with travelers from China and was expanded to include other countries in March and May. These airport screenings were designed to catch coronavirus infected people traveling into the United States so that they would not spread the virus. Airports providing this screening were:
At an FAA-led briefing on September 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that health officials found less than 20 COVID-19 cases from more than 675,000 travelers screened at these airports and opined that it was not an effective return on investment. In a press release dated September 9, CDC noted that "symptom-based screening has limited effectiveness because people with COVID-19 may have no symptoms or fever at the time of screening, or only mild symptoms. Transmission of the virus may occur from passengers who have no symptoms or who have not yet developed symptoms of infection."
As a result, CDC is shifting its strategy to other health measures designed to reduce the risk of travel-related disease transmission. These measures include:
As of September 14, 2020, travelers arriving in the United States from China, Iran, the European Union (Schengen zone), the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Brazil will no longer have to go through enhanced health screenings and temperature checks at the 15 designated funneling airports or provide contact information to local health officials. This enhanced screening began in January with travelers from China and was expanded to include other countries in March and May. These airport screenings were designed to catch coronavirus infected people traveling into the United States so that they would not spread the virus. Airports providing this screening were:
- Boston-Logan International Airport,
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport,
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport,
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport,
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport,
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport,
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport,
- John F. Kennedy International Airport,
- Los Angeles International Airport,
- Miami International Airport,
- Newark Liberty International Airport,
- San Francisco International Airport,
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and
- Washington-Dulles International Airport.
At an FAA-led briefing on September 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that health officials found less than 20 COVID-19 cases from more than 675,000 travelers screened at these airports and opined that it was not an effective return on investment. In a press release dated September 9, CDC noted that "symptom-based screening has limited effectiveness because people with COVID-19 may have no symptoms or fever at the time of screening, or only mild symptoms. Transmission of the virus may occur from passengers who have no symptoms or who have not yet developed symptoms of infection."
As a result, CDC is shifting its strategy to other health measures designed to reduce the risk of travel-related disease transmission. These measures include:
- pre-departure, in-flight, and post-arrival health education for passengers;
- robust illness response at airports;
- voluntary collection of contact information from passengers using electronic means as proposed by some airlines to avoid long lines, crowding and delays associated with manual data collection;
- potential testing to reduce the risk of travel-related transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 and movement of the virus from one location to another;
- country-specific risk assessments to assist passengers in making informed decisions about travel-related risk;
- enhanced training and education of partners in the transportation sector and at United States ports of entry to ensure recognition of illness and immediate notification to CDC; and
- recommendations for arriving passengers to self-monitor and take enhanced precautions to protect others such as staying home to the extent possible for 14 days for people arriving from high-risk destinations.
