US airport security altered in response to coronavirus

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has revised airport screening procedures to limit the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus among its employees and air travelers.

Effective immediately, passengers will be asked to observe social distancing and place their boarding passes on computer scanners themselves rather than handing them to TSA agents.

The agency said it now will require travelers to remove wallets, keys, belts and phones and place them in a carry-on bag rather than in a bin "to reduce touch-points during the screening process".

The TSA said it developed the new guidelines in conjunction with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Adjustments include metering passengers to increase the distance between individuals as they enter the security checkpoint queue, placing visual reminders of appropriate spacing on checkpoint floors and staggering the use of lanes in the security checkpoint where feasible," the TSA said in a statement.

The TSA said passengers will be permitted to include one 12-ounce bottle of liquid hand sanitizer in carry-on bags. But those carrying that amount of hand sanitizer will be screened separately because it exceeds the current limit for liquids.

If a bag doesn't pass X-ray screening, the owner may be asked to unpack it and send it through the machine a second time rather than an agent searching it by hand, the TSA said.

The TSA encourages travelers to pack food in a clear plastic bag to make it easier to check and to avoid the item being touched.

The new procedures may increase the time needed to get through security. The TSA advised passengers to plan accordingly.

Airlines now require passengers to wear face masks on planes, and the TSA will encourage everyone to wear a mask in airport terminals.

Airlines for America, a Washington-based trade association, urged the TSA to conduct airport temperature checks for fevers, but the new TSA guidelines make did not mention that.

Earlier this month, Frontier Airlines said it plans to begin screening all passengers and crew in June. Anyone with a temperature above 100.4 F (38 C) will not be allowed to board.

The TSA said it has instructed its employees to conduct regular cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces at checkpoints. Agents will put on a fresh pair of gloves at a passenger's request.

The TSA said 590 of its employees have tested positive for the coronavirus since it first took steps to limit the spread of the disease. A total of 386 TSA workers have recovered, and six have died. One independent contractor has died from COVID-19 complications.

The TSA said 113 agents tested positive for the coronavirus at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; 61 at New Jersey's Newark Liberty Airport; 21 at Boston's Logan International Airport; and 15 at Los Angeles International Airport.

Government-enforced lockdowns have slashed demand for air travel. The number of passengers passing through checkpoints has ticked up since April but is down about 92 percent in May compared with a year earlier, the agency said.

In response, airlines have cut flights, grounded planes and furloughed employees. Major carriers have reported steep first-quarter financial losses.

But the airlines expect traffic to recover slowly.

Starting in June, Delta Air Lines said it plans to limit aircraft capacity to 50 percent in first class and 60 percent in other classes to maintain social distancing. The airline said it will add up to 100 flights to accommodate passengers.

Delta said it will use high-efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filters to clean cabin air. All planes will be sanitized between flights.

"As more and more people get ready to travel again, they can be confident the measures we are taking will help protect their safety," said Bill Lentsch, Delta's chief customer experience officer, in a statement.

United Airlines said it plans to limit capacity on its flights to 70 percent to maintain social distancing.