Domestic Travel Covid Testing
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2009
Position: 787
Posts: 454
Let’s just assume for a moment that once the vulnerable population is vaccinated and as a result daily deaths (all causes) are no longer considered ‘excess’, and ICUs have more than single digit capacity these restrictions are revoked, that will trigger a real recovery. My opinion is the faster we get there, the better.
People rightfully are tired of this pandemic and many are starting venture out - great! But the bro’s going (or not going) to Vegas is not going to get us back to the revenues we saw 2010-2019.
People rightfully are tired of this pandemic and many are starting venture out - great! But the bro’s going (or not going) to Vegas is not going to get us back to the revenues we saw 2010-2019.
#12
Let’s just assume for a moment that once the vulnerable population is vaccinated and as a result daily deaths (all causes) are no longer considered ‘excess’, and ICUs have more than single digit capacity these restrictions are revoked, that will trigger a real recovery. My opinion is the faster we get there, the better.
People rightfully are tired of this pandemic and many are starting venture out - great! But the bro’s going (or not going) to Vegas is not going to get us back to the revenues we saw 2010-2019.
People rightfully are tired of this pandemic and many are starting venture out - great! But the bro’s going (or not going) to Vegas is not going to get us back to the revenues we saw 2010-2019.
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2009
Position: 787
Posts: 454
I really don't disagree with this, but what are the metrics that will be used to have the restrictions revoked? Simply saying, "when metrics improve" wouldn't exactly fill me with the warm fuzzies. I would want to see hard numbers and percentages from the administration as to what will trigger the end of the restrictions. My fear is the moving goalposts with ambiguous metrics that have been rampant since this whole thing began.
I remember in April / May of last year there was a deck that showed clear metrics on when reopening would begin, but it was tabled almost immediately and the reopening’s happened even without the metrics being met (I’m not saying that was the wrong decision, I’m just saying the metrics existed). Even the very liberal city that I live in has published metrics that have not changed, and when things got better in September - things opened up, and conversely things closed in November. I just have to believe (hope even) that there are clear KPIs that define success for the next 12 months or so.
I like your username - having just completed A320 qual, I know exactly what that means, and what to do with that FMA:-)
#14
That/It/Thang
Joined APC: Aug 2020
Posts: 2,848
Are you saying that this idea where they are looking at testing for COVID for all flights will end up the same as when they looked at putting light or bleach into the body or nuking hurricanes? That it will never happen because it’s just so abused on its face? Or are you saying that when they were looking at those previous ideas that that was just them basically working just like this testing idea they are looking at is just them basically working?
My opinion is this is something (domestic covid tests) that makes the new administration sound "serious" about Covid in their minds, without having a clue on the potential disaster that would result in implementing such a thing; like shutting down the entire country for 4-6 weeks as Osterholm suggested a few months back..aint happening.
Even California, the most ridiculous, is opening back up. The economy can take a shut down again. Covid testing would have a huge impact not just on the airlines, but the economies around the country. Right?
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Position: Student of the game
Posts: 1,010
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,107
It all makes sense now. TSA patdown complete with an anal swab for Covid...report to the airport 6 hours prior to departure https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill...covid-19%3famp
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
#18
It all makes sense now. TSA patdown complete with an anal swab for Covid...report to the airport 6 hours prior to departure https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill...covid-19%3famp
Hopefully they did the anal swab last.
#19
https://skift.com/2021/01/27/u-s-air...-requirements/
TThe eagerly awaited recovery in air travel that airlines have talked up may arrive late to the gate if the U.S. mandates negative Covid-19 tests for all domestic air travelers. The potential move could set back recovery efforts underway in the beleaguered industry.
— Edward Russell
U.S airlines were just beginning to sound optimistic about the year ahead, talking about a tipping point in the travel recovery when Americans feel comfortable to fly en masse again.
Those prognoses may have come a little too soon. On Tuesday, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency was “actively looking” at the possibility of mandatory Covid-19 tests for U.S. domestic air travel.
“There’s been a dramatic evolution and increase in both testing platforms and testing capacity,” Dr. Marty Cetron, director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at CDC, told reporters according to Reuters. “I think this is a really important part of our toolkit to combat this pandemic.”
The potential testing requirements come as the U.S. passed 425,000 Covid-related deaths on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracking project. The country has confirmed more than 25.4 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began.
While a testing requirement would not curtail domestic air travel, it has the potential to severely limit it. One senior executive at a major U.S. airline not authorized to speak publicly described such a move to Skift as possibly “crushing” for the industry.
Spokespeople for American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines all declined to comment on the possible domestic travel requirements. A representative of trade group Airlines for America (A4A) was not immediately available.
With most international travel severely restricted to slow the spread of Covid-19, domestic travel has been the saving grace for carriers amid steep losses. For example in the fourth quarter, Delta generated nearly 83 percent of its passenger revenue in the U.S. up from 74 percent a year earlier. And United generated nearly 75 percent of passenger revenue in the U.S. up from 64 percent in 2019.
Only Hawaii mandates proof of a negative Covid-19 test for arriving flyers. The program is widely credited for allowing the state to reopen its tourism economy while at the same time keeping Covid-19 infections low. Airlines have been able to restart flights but not without challenges.
“Acquiring the test adds additional expense, the inconvenience adds friction to travel, [and] the validation process at airports is cumbersome,” Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram told investors on Tuesday.
Ingram credited Hawaii’s testing program for enabling the airline to restart flights and begin recovering from the crisis. He added that it took “several months” to build up a network of testing providers and options to offer travelers before flights to the islands.
Expanding Hawaii’s testing requirements nationally would likely face challenges similar to those highlighted by Ingram but on a much greater scale. And while Hawaii’s example shows mandatory Covid testing can slow the spread of the virus, it is unclear whether similar rules would apply to people driving or taking the bus or train between states — a potential loophole that could undermine efforts to contain the pandemic.
U.S. officials have already begun mandating Covid tests for some travelers. Beginning Tuesday, people arriving on international flights had to show proof of a negative testin the 72 hours before departure. The CDC gave airlines, airports and travelers two weeks to prepare before implementing the measures.
Any airline pushback to new testing requirements could also face criticism. The industry has accepted tens-of-billions of dollars in coronavirus relief from the government since the CARES Act passed last March. Carriers have taken a further more than $11 billion from the payroll support program extension that was approved in December
TThe eagerly awaited recovery in air travel that airlines have talked up may arrive late to the gate if the U.S. mandates negative Covid-19 tests for all domestic air travelers. The potential move could set back recovery efforts underway in the beleaguered industry.
— Edward Russell
U.S airlines were just beginning to sound optimistic about the year ahead, talking about a tipping point in the travel recovery when Americans feel comfortable to fly en masse again.
Those prognoses may have come a little too soon. On Tuesday, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the agency was “actively looking” at the possibility of mandatory Covid-19 tests for U.S. domestic air travel.
“There’s been a dramatic evolution and increase in both testing platforms and testing capacity,” Dr. Marty Cetron, director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at CDC, told reporters according to Reuters. “I think this is a really important part of our toolkit to combat this pandemic.”
The potential testing requirements come as the U.S. passed 425,000 Covid-related deaths on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracking project. The country has confirmed more than 25.4 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began.
While a testing requirement would not curtail domestic air travel, it has the potential to severely limit it. One senior executive at a major U.S. airline not authorized to speak publicly described such a move to Skift as possibly “crushing” for the industry.
Spokespeople for American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines all declined to comment on the possible domestic travel requirements. A representative of trade group Airlines for America (A4A) was not immediately available.
With most international travel severely restricted to slow the spread of Covid-19, domestic travel has been the saving grace for carriers amid steep losses. For example in the fourth quarter, Delta generated nearly 83 percent of its passenger revenue in the U.S. up from 74 percent a year earlier. And United generated nearly 75 percent of passenger revenue in the U.S. up from 64 percent in 2019.
Only Hawaii mandates proof of a negative Covid-19 test for arriving flyers. The program is widely credited for allowing the state to reopen its tourism economy while at the same time keeping Covid-19 infections low. Airlines have been able to restart flights but not without challenges.
“Acquiring the test adds additional expense, the inconvenience adds friction to travel, [and] the validation process at airports is cumbersome,” Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram told investors on Tuesday.
Ingram credited Hawaii’s testing program for enabling the airline to restart flights and begin recovering from the crisis. He added that it took “several months” to build up a network of testing providers and options to offer travelers before flights to the islands.
Expanding Hawaii’s testing requirements nationally would likely face challenges similar to those highlighted by Ingram but on a much greater scale. And while Hawaii’s example shows mandatory Covid testing can slow the spread of the virus, it is unclear whether similar rules would apply to people driving or taking the bus or train between states — a potential loophole that could undermine efforts to contain the pandemic.
U.S. officials have already begun mandating Covid tests for some travelers. Beginning Tuesday, people arriving on international flights had to show proof of a negative testin the 72 hours before departure. The CDC gave airlines, airports and travelers two weeks to prepare before implementing the measures.
Any airline pushback to new testing requirements could also face criticism. The industry has accepted tens-of-billions of dollars in coronavirus relief from the government since the CARES Act passed last March. Carriers have taken a further more than $11 billion from the payroll support program extension that was approved in December
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