美国航空公司现在将为飞往美国有旅行限制的州的乘客提供飞行前在家新冠肺炎测试套件。美国人是第一家扩大测试准入的美国运营商国内目的地。
通过该航空公司与乐购的合作，乘客将能够在12月9日在线购买新冠肺炎测试套件，从12月12日开始旅行，价格为129美元。该测试包括鼻拭子和随后的聚合酶链反应实验室分析。LetsGetChecked说，客户将在他们的样品到达实验室后的一到两天内收到他们的结果。
美国已经在提供这些家庭COVID测试对于飞往国际目的地的旅行者像伯利兹和智利一样，到达后需要进行阴性检测。
美国航空公司首席客户官艾莉森·泰勒(Alison Taylor)在一份新闻稿中表示:“我们与我们的测试合作伙伴在帮助开放国际旅行方面取得了长足的进步，我们认识到需要类似的国内旅行解决方案。”“随着旅行需求的不断快速发展，我们正在简化研究和新冠肺炎测试的实施流程，以获得整体上更加无缝的旅行体验。”
在一些州，如康涅狄格，抵达后72小时内的新冠肺炎阴性测试可以免除旅行者的自我检疫要求。但是对于飞往纽约这样的州的旅行者来说，飞行前测试只是第一步。他们仍然必须隔离三天，然后在第四天进行第二次阴性测试，以便尽早离开隔离区。
其他实施冠状病毒相关限制的美国目的地包括阿拉斯加、哥伦比亚特区、芝加哥、夏威夷、缅因州、马里兰州、马萨诸塞州、新罕布什尔州、宾夕法尼亚州、波多黎各、罗德岛和佛蒙特州。
美国航空公司决定在国内扩大飞行前测试计划，此前近两周，美国机场经历了疫情期间最繁忙的几天。数百万美国人在感恩节假期旅行尽管疾病控制和预防中心请求呆在家里。
疾病预防控制中心也发布了类似的冬季旅游警告，但旅游专家预计会出现类似的上涨。
INRIX运输分析师鲍勃·皮休说:“尽管有警告，感恩节的客流量仍比一些州的日平均流量高出30%以上。”。“我们预计，在即将到来的寒假期间，除非实施并遵循更严格的旅行限制，否则游客数量将会出现类似的增长。”
顶级传染病专家安东尼·福奇博士对此表示担忧圣诞节可能比感恩节更糟糕因为圣诞节是一个更长的假期。
“我认为这可能比我们在感恩节看到的更具挑战性，”福奇周一在CNN上说。“因此，我希望人们认识到这一点，并理解尽管这很困难，但没有人想改变，如果不是，基本上关闭他们的假期。”
根据旅行路线应用TripIt的数据，圣诞节期间三天或更短时间的短暂停留比去年下降了15%，而四到七天的停留比去年同期增加了21%。
American will offer COVID tests to travelers flying to US states with restrictions
American Airlines will now offer pre-flight, at-home COVID-19 test kits to passengers who are flying to a U.S. state with travel restrictions. American is thefirst U.S. carrier to expand testing accessfor domestic destinations.
Through the airline's partnership with LetsGetChecked, passengers will be able to purchase the COVID-19 testing kit online on Dec. 9 for travel starting on Dec. 12 for $129. The test involves a nasal swab and subsequent PCR lab analysis. LetsGetChecked says customers will receive their results within one to two days of their sample reaching the lab.
American is already offering these at-home COVID testsfor travelers flying to international destinationsthat require a negative test upon arrival, like Belize and Chile.
"We’ve made great strides to help open international travel with our testing partners, and we recognize the need for similar domestic travel solutions,” American Airlines Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor said in a release. “As travel requirements continue to quickly evolve, we’re simplifying the research and COVID-19 testing fulfillment process for an overall more seamless travel experience.”
In some states, like Connecticut, a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arrival can exempt a traveler from self-quarantine requirements. But for travelers flying into a state like New York, the pre-flight test is just the first step. They still must quarantine for three days and then obtain a second negative test on day four in order to exit quarantine early.
Other U.S. destinations that have coronavirus related restrictions in place include Alaska, the District of Columbia, Chicago, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island and Vermont.
American's decision to expand its pre-flight testing program domestically comes almost two weeks after U.S. airports saw some of their busiest days during the pandemic.Millions of Americans traveled over the Thanksgiving holidaydespite pleas from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stay home.
The CDC is issuing a similar warning against travel for the winter holidays, but travel experts expect to see a similar uptick.
“Despite warnings, Thanksgiving traffic surged more than 30% above the daily average in some states,” INRIX Transportation Analyst Bob Pishue said. “We expect a similar increase around the upcoming winter holidays unless stricter travel restrictions are put in place and followed.”
Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is worriedthat Christmas could be worse than Thanksgivingin terms of potential spread because Christmas is a longer holiday.
“I think it can be even more of a challenge than what we saw with Thanksgiving,” Fauci said on CNN Monday. “So I hope that people realize that and understand that as difficult as this is, nobody wants to modify, if not, essentially shut down, their holiday season.”
According to data from travel itinerary app TripIt, short stays of three days or less over the Christmas holiday were down 15% from last year, while stays of four-seven days increased 21% year-over-year.
