Multiple Airline CEOs Want TSA to Screen Passengers' Temperatures

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has continually altered the screening process of airport passengers to maintain the safety of customers and employees.

However, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly thinks more can be done, urging the TSA to incorporate temperature checks into the screening process.

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Kelly and other airline executives, such as Delta CEO Ed Bastian, have frequently suggested alternative methods to ensure air travel safety, including temperature checks and “immunity passports.” Kelly has continually expressed in interviews with "CBS This Morning" and CNBC that temperature checks will convince travelers that it is safe to fly again.

"We'll need to work with the federal government in terms of screening customers to make sure, for example, that you don't have someone getting on the airplane that has a fever,'' Kelly said. “I think that that's going to be very important.''

Air Canada became the first North American airline to require pre-flight temperature checks earlier this week.

Additionally, Seattle airport Paine Field has begun to screen passengers for fevers with a thermal camera. Passengers flagged as having a temperature will be offered secondary screening, and if a fever is confirmed, the passenger and the airline will determine their ability to travel.

Health experts have raised the concern that asymptomatic individuals will pass temperature checks while still putting others at risk. The TSA has not confirmed if it will implement temperature checks into airport security checkpoints and continues to rely on the health expertise of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency is also working with airports and airlines and the Department of Homeland Security to make an informed decision.