NACA Joins Travel Coalition Opposing Pre-Departure Testing Requirement for Domestic Air Travel

NACA joined a coalition of 23 travel, aviation and manufacturing associations to send a letter to COVID-19 Recovery Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zients January 29, 2021, opposing the imposition of a pre-departure testing requirement for domestic air travel.

The letter states in part:

We strongly support many aspects of the Executive Order, such as the Federal mask mandate for interstate travel and pre-departure testing for international arriving passengers. However, we are concerned by recent media reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering a pre-departure testing requirement for domestic air travel. The industry remains committed to supporting risk-based, scientific approaches to contagion mitigation.

…

Given the strong scientific evidence that the risk of COVID-19 transmission onboard an aircraft is very low, we believe that a testing requirement for domestic air travel is unwarranted. Further, public health and economic data indicate that this policy would disproportionately prevent low-income travelers and rural Americans in small communities from travel. They may have less access to testing facilities, which could cause further job loss and economic harm to the most devastated sectors of the economy, who will need air service to take part in recovery. Therefore, the costs and consequences of a testing requirement for domestic air travel would far outweigh any potential benefits.

Read the full letter here.