Airports' Health Screenings: Strategies And Standards

Airports have implemented various health screening measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and previous disease outbreaks. These measures aim to prevent the spread of diseases and ensure the safety of travellers, staff, and the general public. Health screenings may include temperature checks, symptom questioning, social distancing, enhanced cleaning protocols, and travel restrictions for passengers from specific regions. While some airports conduct health screenings for all arriving passengers, others focus on travellers from high-risk areas. For example, during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, JFK Airport in New York conducted Ebola checks, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, airports in the United States and other countries implemented health screenings for passengers from China and later expanded them to travellers from Europe.

Characteristics and Values of Airport Health Screenings

Screening for COVID-19 symptoms

One example of an airport that implemented COVID-19 screenings is the Incheon International Airport. From March 11 to April 30, 2020, they performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis on 11,074 entrants, resulting in 388 confirmed COVID-19 cases. This process helped to prevent an influx of COVID-19 cases from abroad and minimise the national healthcare burden.

Another example is the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which started an enhanced screening programme for air passengers in January 2020. This programme included checking temperatures and monitoring symptoms among passengers flying in from high-risk countries. However, according to a CDC report, between January 13 and September 13, only nine out of 766,000 travellers tested positive, indicating a low case detection rate.

Despite the low detection rates, screenings may have helped in the early stages of the pandemic by discouraging symptomatic individuals from travelling, limiting the entry of potentially infected travellers, and promoting preventative actions such as recommending a 14-day self-quarantine after arrival. Additionally, screenings can provide valuable data on the characteristics of infected travellers, such as a higher prevalence among males and the elderly.

To improve the effectiveness of screenings, the CDC suggested pre-departure testing as a way to reduce coronavirus transmission during travel. Furthermore, it is important to consider not only temperature checks but also other symptoms such as loss of smell or taste, which has a high positive predictive value and is strongly associated with COVID-19.

Social distancing measures

Passengers are also required to keep possession of their boarding passes, presenting them to TSA officers for visual inspection without any physical contact. Similarly, passengers are responsible for placing their carry-on food items into clear plastic bags for X-ray screening, reducing the likelihood of TSA officers needing to open carry-on bags and decreasing direct contact.

These new procedures and social distancing measures have resulted in longer waiting times, with travellers reporting long queues and hours-long waits for health screenings before passing through customs. The implementation of these measures aims to ensure the health and safety of both employees and travellers, but some have questioned their effectiveness in curbing the spread of the disease, especially with the increased density of people in crowded terminals.

To address the challenges posed by social distancing measures, airports are consolidating screening operations and closing checkpoints due to reduced flights and passenger volumes. This allows for a more efficient use of resources and helps manage the flow of travellers.

Enhanced cleaning protocols

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TSA has made several changes to its screening checkpoints for the health and safety of its employees and travellers. These changes include enhanced cleaning protocols, which are also being implemented in Canadian airports by CATSA.

At Canadian airports, the frequency of bin-cleaning has increased, and anti-viral cleaning products are being used on bins and other surfaces. Explosive trace detection swabs are also being changed after each use to prevent the spread of the virus.

In addition to enhanced cleaning, TSA and CATSA are also implementing social distancing measures, such as metering passengers to increase distance between individuals, placing visual reminders of appropriate spacing on the floor, and staggering the use of lanes. These measures aim to reduce direct contact and lower the risk of virus transmission.

Travellers are also encouraged to follow safety guidelines, such as keeping possession of their boarding passes, placing carry-on food items in clear plastic bags for X-ray screening, and practising social distancing. These measures work in conjunction with enhanced cleaning protocols to create a safer airport environment.

As the situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve, airports are committed to adapting their cleaning protocols and safety measures to protect the health and well-being of all individuals passing through.

Quarantine enforcement

Health Screening Procedures:

Passengers arriving from specific regions or countries are subjected to health screenings, which may include temperature checks, visual inspections, and questioning about potential exposure to the disease. These screenings aim to identify individuals exhibiting symptoms or at risk of infection. Those who meet the criteria are referred to health authorities for further evaluation and possible quarantine.

Diversion of Flights:

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, flights from affected regions, such as Wuhan, China, were diverted to designated airports equipped to conduct health screenings. This allowed authorities to assess and quarantine passengers from high-risk areas effectively.

Social Distancing and Protective Equipment:

Social distancing measures are enforced at airports to reduce the risk of disease transmission during the screening process. Passengers are required to maintain a safe distance from one another, and officers conducting screenings wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves and masks, to minimize direct contact.

Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfection:

Airports have implemented rigorous cleaning and disinfection protocols, especially for frequently touched surfaces, security screening bins, and other areas within the airport. This helps prevent the spread of the disease through surface contact.

Travel Restrictions and Quarantine Requirements:

Governments may impose travel restrictions on individuals arriving from high-risk areas. These restrictions can include mandatory quarantine periods, self-isolation, or entry bans for non-citizens. For example, during the Ebola outbreak, the US imposed travel restrictions on individuals travelling from affected countries in West Africa.

Passenger Education and Symptom Reporting:

Airports distribute informational pamphlets to passengers, outlining the symptoms of the disease and requesting self-reporting of symptoms. This encourages travellers who may be experiencing symptoms to identify themselves voluntarily for further assessment and potential quarantine.

Temperature checks

Temperature screening kiosks offer several advantages over handheld thermometers. They reduce the risk to employees as they can be distanced from passengers, require no additional staff for operation, decrease wait times, and provide accurate readings from a suitable distance. Additionally, they can be set up to detect mask usage and deny entry to those without masks.

While temperature checks cannot directly detect COVID-19, they are an important tool in preventing the spread of the virus by identifying individuals with abnormal temperature readings. These checks may be conducted at multiple points during a passenger's journey, such as before boarding a flight or after landing.

In the United States, there have been legislative efforts to mandate temperature checks at airports. Senate Bill 4623, introduced by Senator Maria Cantwell, proposes that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) establish a programme for temperature checks at selected airports representing diverse operating conditions. The TSA has previously resisted calls to conduct these checks itself, urging airports and airlines to take responsibility. However, if the bill becomes law, the TSA would be required to implement temperature checks as a measure to address the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Frequently asked questions