US airlines seek Covid testing to sidestep travel quarantines

A coalition of airline and travel industry groups is urging top U.S. officials to develop standards for rapid testing and other measures to sidestep the growing quarantine restrictions imposed by states.

Eighteen states have some type of quarantine for people arriving from Covid-19 hot spots, but “this patchwork of rules is confusing and discourages travel,” the group of 20 industry associations said in a letter Thursday.

The federal government should step in to impose national protocols, such as rapid tests for the coronavirus, contact tracing and centralized risk assessments, said the letter to the heads of the departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Transportation.

“Travel quarantines are decimating our industry,” the group said.

Establishing requirements for testing before travel would be easier to enforce and lower risks compared to the current system, they said.

So far, the U.S. government has balked at other requests from the industry to perform temperature checks on passengers or to issue a requirement for wearing face masks.