On Thursday, May 7, Frontier Airlines announced that it will soon implement temperature checks for all passengers and airport team members. It is the first airline in the United States to do so.
Starting June 1, 2020, customers will be screened with touchless thermometers prior to boarding. Anyone with a temperature registering 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above will not be allowed to board the plane. However, individuals with a high reading will be allowed to rest, if boarding time allows, and be checked a second time. If the second check is also above 100.4, the customer will not be able to fly.
Frontier will work with those customers unable to fly to rebook travel on a later date. Crew and airport team members will be held to the same standard and, like passengers, will not be allowed onboard if their temperature registers above 100.4 degrees.
The announcement comes the day after Frontier dropped plans to allow passengers to pay an extra fee to sit next to an empty middle seat and around the same time that mandatory mask rules are going into effect for many airlines, including Frontier. JetBlue, United, American, Delta, and Southwest all have new face mask policies that begin either this week or next.
“Temperature screenings add an additional layer of protection for everyone onboard,” said Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle in a press release.
Other air travel industry players have begun to implement temperature screenings for passengers. On May 4, 2020, Air Canada became the first airline in the Americas to announce temperature checks. Hong Kong International Airport has installed full-body disinfecting booths that also screen for temperature. And in London, Heathrow Airport is testing large-scale temperature checks, reports the BBC.
Frontier has also indicated that it believes passengers should be screened as they are entering an airport by the TSA or other government agency, but it will conduct its own temperature screenings until such a plan is put in place. Southwest and JetBlue have also called on the TSA to come up with a nationwide solution.
