Major U.S. airlines against mandatory COVID testing for domestic travel

U.S. airlines against mandatory COVID testing for domestic travel

Despite most major United States-based airlines are not voicing concerns about the COVID-19 testing requirements that started applying to international passengers heading to the U.S. on Tuesday, those same airline officials are voicing significant concerns over identical or similar requirements potentially being put in place for domestic air travelers.

Roger Dow, the CEO and president of the U.S. Travel Association, said that “we are very much in favor of international testing for opening up international travel” but that “we’re opposed to domestic criteria for testing prior to a domestic flight” as that would, in his opinion, hurt the travel industry.

Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, was another of those who has opposed this testing requirement, saying that he views it as “wholly impractical” and that it would be a “mistake” to implement.

Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s CEO, said that domestic testing at the moment is too difficult to secure in as timely a manner as would likely be required under these proposed regulations. Additionally, she and Kelly both said that it is unfair for airlines to be singled out and for bus and train travel to remain unaffected.

Doug Parker, American’s CEO, added that his and airplanes with other major airlines are ones that “we all know are safe to be on.” He and several other airline officials have also stated that many passengers canceling trips and others not booking future seats will result from this.

Airplane crossing a city

However, according to Rochelle Walensky, the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that is the point. She wants to see air travel numbers be minimized as much as possible, saying, “Now is not the time to be traveling, period, internationally or domestically.”

She added that it is monetarily feasible to have enough tests available for those who want to fly domestically and that a significant portion of COVID-19-focused funding should relate to “high-risk activities,” such as flying.

Also, airlines such as Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines have already entered partnerships with test providers. In fact, Peter Ingram, Hawaiian’s CEO, has stated that a testing requirement is a way to “safely” help the airline industry start to recover.

Regardless, none of the airline officials were able to respond to specific elements of this proposal as those have not been revealed, such as how similar this would be to the already implemented internationally focused regulations or when this may be enacted.