(NewNation Now) — New legislation introduced in Congress Wednesday would mandate COVID-19 restrictions for domestic airline travelers as the holiday travel season is beginning to ramp up.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would require airline travelers to be fully vaccinated, test negative or have fully recovered from COVID-19 before traveling in the U.S.
The U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Federal Aviation Administration to work together on developing national standards for all airline travelers in order to prevent future outbreaks of the disease.
“We know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winter’s devastating COVID-19 surge. We simply cannot allow that to happen again,” Feinstein said in a statement.
“Ensuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is critical to prevent the next surge, particularly if we confront new, more virulent variants of COVID-19,” Feinstein said.
“It only makes sense that we also ensure the millions of airline passengers that crisscross our country aren’t contributing to further transmission, especially as young children remain ineligible to be vaccinated,” she continued.
Feinstein said the restrictions in the bill build off standards already in place for all international travelers.
Anyone entering the U.S. from a foreign country must currently show proof of a negative COVID-19 test to gain entry.
