
United Airlines said Wednesday it now requires all passengers to self-certify their health prior to boarding a flight.
The airline is the first to require all passengers to complete a health questionnaire to screen for coronavirus as part of checking in.
The questionnaire includes asking passengers to certify they have not experienced coronavirus symptoms in the last 14 days nor tested positive for the virus in the past 21 days.
It also asks passengers to agree to wear a face mask during the flight, which is an airline policy but not a federal requirement.
A United Airlines flight attendant, Susannah Carr, testified before the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday that her colleagues have discussed “the fact that passengers don’t like to wear the mask, might take it off for a longer period than just to eat or drink. It’s definitely an issue that we need to address.”
The airline said customers who “are not able to confirm these requirements” will be “able to reschedule their flight.”
There are no government or industry-wide requirements for this broad type of health screening.
The airlines have asked the Transportation Security Administration to conduct temperature screening of passengers, but so far the agency has not decided to do so.
There's been health screening by government officials at some airports, particularly for incoming international passengers, and Frontier says it takes the temperature of each passenger to check for a fever prior to boarding.