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Airline Industry Supports Voluntary Contact Tracing

The organization says it hopes the measures, together with testing, will lead policymakers to lift restrictions on international travel

by Business Traveler

February 26, 2021

Airlines for America, the aviation industry trade group, has announced that its member carriers have pledged to support implementation of a voluntary international contact tracing program.

A4A says Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have all committed to collecting contact tracing data from passengers traveling into the US.

Customers will be asked to volunteer the following information:

• Name

• Two telephone numbers

• E-mail address

• Address where travelers will be staying in the US or address of permanent residence in the US

The data would be transmitted to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to enhance the existing efforts to share necessary contact tracing information.

According to Nicholas Calio, CEO of A4A, the organization hopes that this measure, coupled with existing testing requirements for passengers flying to the US, “will lead policymakers to lift travel restrictions so that international travel can resume and the social and economic benefits of that travel can be realized.”

airlines.org