Airlines Adding Pre-Flight Health Questionnaire

You won’t have to prove it with a swab test, but at least two airlines are asking travelers to fill out a health questionnaire prior to boarding that gives tacit confirmation you are coronavirus-free.

The revelation of this new ‘health checklist’ was first reported by USA Today.

United Airlines began requiring passengers to fill out the checklist on June 9; Alaska Airlines said it will follow on June 30.

USA Today noted that Alaska calls it a health and wellness agreement and says travelers must verify they haven’t had any COVID-19 symptoms in the past 72 hours or have come into contact with someone who is symptomatic. United’s “Ready to Fly” checklist asks passengers to confirm they have not had COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days; been diagnosed with the virus in the past 21 days; or had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

Right now, Frontier Airlines is the only U.S. carrier doing more than a checklist by taking passengers’ temperatures before boarding. Its questionnaire is part of the check-in process.

But for United and Alaska, the checklist operates on the good faith of passengers to tell the truth. And if travelers fail to meet the requirements on the questionnaire, they will be asked to reschedule their flight.