TSA Preparing Passenger Temp Check Program At Some Airports

The Transportation Security Administration is preparing to check passengers’ temperatures at about a dozen airports as soon as next week, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

It’s not clear which airports will have new scanning procedures, but it’s expected to cost less than $20 million to roll out — and passengers won’t get hit with a fee to pay for it, the Journal reported.

According to the Journal, the scanners will probably be a mix of tripods that can scan multiple people at once and hand-held devices. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or over will be flagged.

Airlines have been pushing the TSA to take temperature to keep potentially sick people from boarding — and make travelers feel safer getting back in the air. 

The airlines industry has taken a massive hit during the pandemic. Over half of U.S. passenger planes have been grounded, the Journal reported, and schedules slashed by as much as 90% in some cases.

“At this time, no decision has been made regarding specific health screening measures at airports,” the TSA told the Journal in a statement.

The TSA ran a weeklong pilot of temperature checks at Washington Dulles International Airport in April, administration officials told the Journal.

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