Frontier is now screening passengers’ temperatures, a first in the US

If you’re flying Frontier today, you’re going to have your temperature taken before you board. The move makes Frontier the first U.S. carrier to introduce such a measure.

The screening will take place using a contactless thermometer, and passengers will be pulled aside if their temperature registers as 100.4 or higher. According to the airline, a second screening will be conducted if time permits, but passengers with fever will be denied boarding and rebooked at a later date or given a travel credit or refund if they choose to cancel the trip.

“Temperature screenings are the latest addition to our comprehensive, multi-layered approach to supporting the health and well-being of everyone onboard our aircraft,” Barry Biffle, Frontier’s CEO said in a statement. “Combined with face coverings, hospital-grade HEPA air filtration and enhanced cleaning and disinfection procedures, we believe our aircraft are safer than any other mode of transportation.”

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Frontier’s employees will also undergo screenings at the start of every shift, and will not be allowed to work if they have a fever.

The airline’s new policy is just the latest example of broad changes across aviation as the industry tries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As airlines have begun implementing their own policies in response to the ongoing pandemic, many industry executives have also called on the government to take a more central role in creating uniform guidelines for travelers. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, for example, has said he believes the Transportation Security Administration should be conducting temperature screenings at passenger checkpoints.

More broadly, the absence of a singular policy, many have said, leads to confusion for travelers and makes it difficult — and potentially more expensive — for airlines to respond.

“When the world restarts to fly, it’s historically, every government, every country will have its own regulatory scheme,” Oscar Munoz, United Airlines’ recently-departed CEO said at White House roundtable on Friday. “That is called patchwork.” He called for governments to work together to create a uniform, global COVID-19 policy, which he said will make travelers more comfortable and prepared when they are ready to fly again.

Check out TPG’s related coverage at the links below:

• Denied boarding after a temperature check? Know your rights.
• Last month, Frontier became the first U.S. airline to announce pre-flight temperature screenings.
• How far can airborne COVID germs really spread on a plane? Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about cabin air circulation.
• What the heck is a HEPA filter? How airplane air stays clean.
• Flying after coronavirus: health screenings in airports and emptier planes.
• Middle seats are blocked now, but don’t expect that to last long.
• 3 ways the TSA experience will be different next time you fly.
• Delta customer survey offers some clues about how coronavirus could change air travel.

Featured photo by robert cicchetti/Shutterstock.