IATA welcomes United States pre-departure testing order for Covid-19

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the announcement by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it will require all travelers to the US to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test undertaken within three days prior to their departure to the US, effective 26 January.

“Systematic pre-departure testing is key to giving governments the confidence to reopen markets without quarantine. Testing will ensure that at current infection levels, aviation will not become a meaningful vector of new transmissions in the US. Furthermore, IATA traveler surveys show that passengers strongly support and are willing to undergo testing,” said Douglas Lavin, IATA’s Vice President Member and External Relations, North America.

IATA is encouraged by the flexibility shown by CDC in this order, in terms of accepting both antigen and PCR testing and in providing passengers who have already had COVID-19 the ability to demonstrate they are immune. 

“As the efficacy of testing is confirmed, we need to move quickly to the next steps—lifting travel restrictions which prevent travel from Europe and other key markets and removing quarantine requirements imposed by state and local governments in the US,” said Lavin.

IATA is developing the IATA Travel Pass, a mobile app to manage information flows around requirements for COVID-19 testing and/or vaccine/immunity information. The IATA Travel Pass will enable travelers to receive and securely store encrypted data on their own mobile devices, including verified test or vaccination results, and to share this information with airlines and authorities. IATA urged the US government to make provision to accept test and immunity documents shared electronically via the IATA Travel Pass.

“While this order presents operational challenges, we will continue to work with CDC to achieve a smooth implementation. It definitely is a big step in the right direction,” said Lavin.

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