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Running a fever? Then you won’t be flying with Frontier.
On Thursday, the airline announced that all guests, as well as all crew members, would need to undergo a touchless temperature screening prior to boarding, starting June 1.
The new protocol is just one of several instituted by the airline in response to the ongoing coronavirus health crisis.
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“The health and safety of everyone flying Frontier is paramount and temperature screenings add an additional layer of protection for everyone onboard,” said Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle in a media release. “This new step during the boarding process, coupled with face coverings and elevated disinfection procedures, will serve to provide Frontier customers an assurance that their well-being is our foremost priority and we are taking every measure to help them travel comfortably and safely.”
Customers whose temperatures read 100.4 degrees F or higher will first be given “time to rest, if the flight departure time allows,” and then tested again before boarding. Anyone who fails to register a temperature under 100.4 degrees will not be allowed to fly that day, and instead will be rebooked for a future flight. Employees with temperatures above 100.4 degrees will not be allowed to work.
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In instituting the new policy, Frontier becomes the first U.S. airline to mandate temperature checks of passengers. Earlier this week, Air Canada became the first carrier in the Americas to do so, upon announcing a similar screening initiative to begin on May 15.
Frontier Airlines was also the first U.S. carrier to require all flight attendants wear face masks on planes, making it a requirement on April 13. By April 30, the airline – as well as most other major U.S. airlines – announced it would be extending this requirement for passengers in the coming weeks. (Frontier passengers were required to start wearing face coverings as of May 8.)
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Frontier’s announcement regarding temperature screenings comes just one day after its CEO, Barry Biffle, rescinded an offer that would require passengers to pay to keep middle seats empty. The policy was criticized both online and by lawmakers with the House of Representatives for seemingly charging customers for the privilege of maintaining social distance between them.
Biffle said the airline will now be prohibiting the booking of middle seats entirely.