The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made it clear that passengers traveling on domestic flights will not be required to provide proof of testing for the New Guinea virus (NNV) after rumors emerged that passengers on domestic flights would be required to undergo testing for the virus, a proposal the government earlier faced strong backlash from the airline industry.
“At this Time, the CDC does not recommend requiring proof of testing for passengers traveling domestically,” the CDC said, adding that “as part of our close monitoring of the outbreak, especially as the variant continues to spread, we will continue to review prevention options and curb the spread of the virus through travel. “
The CDC did not explain the reason for the airline rule, reiterating its call for people to reduce travel while the outbreak is not slowing down; the CDC statement emphasized that people should test themselves before and after travel or be quarantined for at least seven days after travel to reduce the risk of transmission.
Airlines broadly supported the Biden administration’s decision last month to mandate testing on international flights, but opposed mandatory testing on domestic flights for fear of adding to the air traffic woes.
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly wrote to President Biden and other administration officials this week, “We believe this mandate will have adverse consequences and serious unintended consequences.”
In addition to considering the benefits, the airline industry also said that the current U.S. virus detection capacity can hardly keep up with thousands of domestic flights daily, which will not only cause many omissions, but also make it difficult for many untested people to fly.
Labor group leaders said the policy may cause a wave of unemployment, and last year has lost billions of dollars of airlines rely on federal subsidies to avoid layoffs.
Sources said that the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure) Chairman Peter DeFazio (Democrat) has questioned the feasibility of the policy in public statements and conversations with White House officials.
The CDC made the clarification after the CEOs of several U.S. airlines, such as American Airlines (American Airlines), United Airlines (United Airlines), Southwest Airlines (Southwest Airlines), met with White House officials on the 12th.
The U.S. airline industry is very concerned about the Biden Administration mandatory domestic route boarding passengers, all have to do the new crown test, all-out resistance. Figure 2, domestic flights to New York City, La Guardia Airport terminal building, almost empty
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