Air travelers flying domestic within the United States may soon be required to prove that they are not infected with Covid-19 before boarding a flight, if a bill proposed in the U.S. Senate passes.
The U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act, introduced this week by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), would require airlines to ensure that all U.S. air passengers show digital or paper documentation that they are fully vaccinated, have tested negative for the coronavirus or are fully recovered from the illness before boarding a domestic flight.
“Ensuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is critical to prevent the next surge, particularly if we confront new, more virulent variants of COVID-19,” said Feinstein in a statement.
The legislation would create a national standard and bring Covid-related protocols for domestic air travel in line with those for international air travel.
“This bill complements similar travel requirements already in place for all air passengers – including Americans – who fly to the United States from foreign countries,” said Feinstein. “This includes flights from foreign countries with lower COVID-19 rates than many U.S. states.”
Starting in early November, the U.S. will require all foreign travelers boarding U.S.-bound planes to show proof of vaccination status in addition to a negative Covid-19 test. American travelers will also be subject to stricter requirements.
Currently, domestic U.S. air passengers are currently not subjected to any scrutiny of their Covid status.
Throughout much of the pandemic, U.S. airline executives and airline union leaders argued that any additional Covid-19 restrictions for domestic flyers would be bad for business, resulting in fewer people willing to fly, and ultimately putting jobs at risk.
But multiple surveys suggest that a hefty majority of the public is on board with Feinstein’s bill, including a recent Harris Poll revealing that nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) support introducing a vaccine passport for domestic flights, with those who “strongly support” such an initiative outnumbering those who “somewhat support” it by more than two to one.
“We know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winter’s devastating COVID-19 surge,” said Feinstein in a statement. “We simply cannot allow that to happen again.”
Along with protecting the flying public from exposure to Covid-19, studies show that a vaccine mandate for domestic travel would also boost the overall vaccination uptake. In a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, about four in 10 unvaccinated respondents said they would be more likely to get a shot if airlines required it of passengers or if the CDC said that vaccinated people could travel freely without having to wear masks in most situations.
Feinstein’s bill has the support of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Public Health Association.