January 29th, local time, according to the U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel, a senior official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that the U.S. government is considering whether to require passengers on flights in the United States to provide a negative nucleic acid test before boarding.
As soon as the news came out, it was immediately opposed by major American airlines and American Tourism Associations. Among them, Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines
Said that if you choose to conduct mass nucleic acid testing for passengers on domestic flights, why not do the same for grocery stores, restaurants, sports events? People should also test before entering these places.
The American Tourism Association said that the plan “does not work” because the ability to conduct nucleic acid testing varies greatly across the United States.
In order to curb the spread of COVID-19, travel restrictions adopted everywhere have caused huge losses to major American airlines. Once domestic travelers are required to provide negative nucleic acid tests, many airlines are worried that their losses will be compounded.
According to reports, the aviation industry is one of the hardest hit industries in the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States.
Among them, the U.S. aviation industry lost nearly $34 billion last year.
Delta and American Airlines have reported record annual losses, and Southwest has also recorded its first annual loss since 1972.
