The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that airlines do not have to mandate travelers to provide evidence of a negative coronavirus test before domestic flights.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) said domestic travelers would not have to take a coronavirus test on Friday before fleeing because the government apparently rejected it from President Joe Biden’s government, reports The New York Times. Biden administrative officials have previously said they are implementing the policy.
“At present, the CDC does not recommend the necessary departure point testing for domestic travel,” the health agency was quoted as saying by the NYT.
The CDC added that it would continue to review the “health options. (RELATED: ‘It would be a political attack on the people of Florida’: DeSantis responds to reports from Biden admin that could restrict domestic travel)
Discussions have taken place between the CDC and administration officials about the need for airlines to ensure that travelers take tests before domestic flights, Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg told Axios on Monday. The policy would have mimicked the requirement for international flights, requiring all passengers to take a coronavirus test before boarding from overseas to the US.
Rep. Sam Graves, member of the House Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Rankings, joins airline executives, union leaders and political leaders (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
“There is currently an active dialogue with the CDC,” Buttigieg said according to Axios. “What I can tell you is that it will be guided by data, by science, by medicine and by the input of the people who are actually going to have to carry it out.”
However, according to the Associated Press, airlines and unions in the airline opposed the policy, saying it would bankrupt the industry.
‘[Departure testing for domestic travel] would reduce the demand for domestic air travel, jeopardize aviation work and create serious unintended consequences, ”the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said in a statement.
The flight attendant association’s association, Sara Nelson, said the policy, according to the NYT, would lead to bankruptcy of airline on February 4 during her testimony before the Home Transport and Infrastructure Committee.
The airline officials warned that passengers should test before flying, further discouraging people from booking flights due to the extra cost. The CEOs of America, United States, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue met with White House officials on Friday and pleaded with the government not to apply the test policy.
On Friday, the U.S. reported 5,418 new coronavirus-related deaths and 100,570 new cases, while 74,225 Americans remained in the hospital due to the virus, according to The COVID Tracking Project. More than 48 million coronavirus vaccines have been administered since Friday, CDC data showed.
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