U.S. airlines push for virus tests to replace global restrictions

The country’s biggest airlines are asking the Trump administration to institute a “global program to require testing for travelers to the United States” — and scrap many travel restrictions.

In a letter to Vice President Mike Pence on Monday, the advocacy group Airlines for America said it was supporting a proposal by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement the universal testing. The organization, which represents airlines including American, Delta, United and Southwest, said it also urged the administration to eliminate entry restrictions on people traveling “from Europe, the United Kingdom and Brazil.”

The letter argues that such moves would protect the health and safety of people flying and communities on the ground while also allowing for “essential economic activities.”

“We believe a well-planned program focused on increasing testing of travelers to the United States will further these objectives in a much more effective way than the blanket travel restrictions currently in place,” the letter says.

Some national testing requirements are in place to fly in North America: In light of news of a faster-spreading variant of the virus, the CDC introduced a requirement that anyone flying from the U.K. must show negative test results from no more than 72 hours before departing. Health experts warn that testing isn’t foolproof for travel, as passengers can become infectious after testing negative. Testing, too, remains imperfect: According to the Food and Drug Administration, antigen tests for the coronavirus provide faster results than molecular tests but “have a higher chance of missing an active infection.”