Federal Guidance to Fly Healthy This Holiday Season

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Departments of Transportation, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and State have established a new web portal where airline passengers can obtain updated information on how to Fly Healthy this holiday season. The portal walks you through every step of the process: plan your travel; at the airport; aboard the aircraft; arrival at your destination, and returning home. Passengers making plans to return to air travel during the COVID-19 public health crisis are encouraged to visit the portal before heading to the airport. The experience as an airline passenger begins at home, planning and taking precautions to help everyone have a safe journey while preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Following these and other federal travel guidance will help ensure airline passengers can Fly Healthy for the holidays and safely negotiate all aspects of air travel. Recommendations include, among others:

Trip Planning: Before booking your trip, check for international travel advisories and destination-specific COVID-19 risk. Refer to individual state, territorial, tribal, and local government websites for domestic travel advisories and information about quarantine or other restrictions.

At the Airport: Once you arrive at the airport and exit your vehicle, start wearing your mask. This includes on shuttle buses, trams and any time you are outside your own vehicle on airport grounds.

Aboard the Aircraft: Wear your mask aboard the aircraft, practice good sanitation, and maintain as much social distance as possible. Be sure to pack extra masks for yourself and your party in your carry-on.

Arrival at Your Destination State, local, and territorial governments may have travel restrictions in place, including testing requirements, stay-at-home orders, and quarantine requirements upon arrival.

Returning Home: You may have been exposed to COVID-19 on your travels. Regardless of where you traveled or what you did during your trip, take action to protect others from getting sick after you return. The Federal Aviation Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Transportation Security Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection collaborated on the guidance supporting these recommendations. Additional information to better protect airline passengers, crew, and other airport workers can be found in the Runway to Recovery publication, a joint guidance initiative from the Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, and Health and Human Services https://www.transportation.gov/flyhealthy