Brit Air: OK, Cuo

JFK-bound tests

British Airways, at the request of Gov. Cuomo, has agreed to test passengers for a new coronavirus mutation before they board a flight to Kennedy Airport.

In an effort to keep New York free of the highly contagious strain that has shut down London, Cuomo asked airline officials to take the proactive measure, the governor said Monday.

The move comes as more than a dozen countries shut their borders to visitors from the United Kingdom as it grapples with a new, highly contagious strain of the coronavirus.

Cuomo said he has also asked Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic — the other two airlines that fly passengers between New York and London — to “voluntarily agree” to screen passengers on flights to JFK.

Some 120 countries already require preflight testing. Cuomo said that since the United States is not one of them, he will do whatever he can to bring the state up to the increased security threshold.

“I’m only a governor, but I will do anything I can to protect the people of the state of New York,” he said.

“I have no legal authority on international travel. When a plane lands in an airport, only Customs and Border Control has jurisdiction. That’s my issue here. I can’t halt flights. However, you’re landing on New York soil. Therefore, I do have legal jurisdiction that I can assert,” Cuomo said.

“We saw this movie. UK closes down, other countries ban. Yes, I think the US should halt travel ... period,” he added. “Don’t make the same mistake you did in the spring.

“I was on the phone with top experts all weekend. ‘We don’t know how deadly. . . we don’t know if the vaccine is effective. Our working assumption is the vaccine is effective,’ ” Cuomo said, quoting them.

The new testing agreement comes as domestic airport traffic saw a significant increase last weekend, with millions flying despite warnings against holiday travel.