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United Becomes the First Airline to Require Passengers to Self-Certify Their Health

News Airports + Flying
by Eben Diskin Jun 11, 2020

Flying looks different these days, even for short domestic trips. In addition to face-mask-wearing and reduced touchpoints in airports, some airlines are now requiring passengers to declare a clean bill of health before boarding. On Wednesday, June 10, United Airlines announced that they will require passengers to self-certify their health by completing a health questionnaire before boarding. The form will ask passengers to acknowledge that they have not had any coronavirus symptoms in the past 14 days or tested positive for the virus in the past 21 days.

According to United, passengers who cannot self-certify their health will not be allowed to board, but they will be permitted to reschedule their flight. Every airline is handling health concerns differently, with some relying on TSA to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. While Frontier Airlines plans to take the temperature of each passenger prior to boarding, many are asking TSA to do so during security checks.

The health certification is just one of several health precautions United is taking. It was one of the first airlines to mandate face coverings for passengers during flights.

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