So you want to fly? Get ready for a whole new level of screening on top of current measures if you hope to board a flight.
The FAA has approved new measures at Iowa airports that are being considered to be deployed nationwide in an effort to make people “more comfortable.”
If you want to get on a plane not only will one have to pass through the rigorous and sometimes annoying security screening you’ll have to deal with a health screening.
Executives of Eastern Iowa Airport waited for approval from the FAA so they could use coronavirus relief money to pay for health screening passengers before then get on a flight.
Airport officials in Cedar Rapids claim the first step wouldn’t take long, travelers would be subject to answer a few questions and have their temperatures taken. If a traveler fails the initial screening they will “be subject to a second review” which will soon involve a rapid coronavirus test.
“We’ve seen that travelers around the country may be apprehensive about air travel,” Tim Sagers, director of the medical group that will preform the screenings said. “Our aim in this partnership is to provide further assurance that those who fly are as safe as possible.”
From the Chronicle:
The FAA determined that the screenings would be a legitimate use of airport revenue as long as they were conducted by trained medical personnel and not offered to the public at large.
“Airports may voluntarily choose to take such actions in an attempt to jump-start and support the recovery of airport operations and airport services,” the agency wrote in a guidance document.
Eastern Iowa Airport is relatively small, not ranking among the 100 busiest in the nation in a typical year. But it is served by three of the four major carriers, as well as by two low-cost airlines. American Airlines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air expressed support for the program.
Hillary Grey, a spokeswoman for Allegiant, said, “We look forward to seeing how it will work in the operational environment in the coming weeks.”
Iowa’s airports may be small but just wait until people like Governor Newsom and Cuomo get involved.
