Greetings! Every morning, I look at the TSA throughput numbers and they’ve been great for airlines and airports … at least for the short term. But they’ve been terrible for hospitals and communities. Yesterday, TSA screened 912,090 individuals at airport checkpoints nationwide. One week earlier, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, TSA screened 611,497 people across the country. One year ago, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 2,435,170 people were screened.
After watching interviews with doctors on a variety of news channels, I’m left shaking my head. They’re strongly recommending only essential travel, which is why I haven’t flown since February. I know it’s bad for business short term but I’m confident that travel will return with a vengeance once this is pandemic over. Just sit tight. Let’s all do our part. There’s light at the end of this tunnel.
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For those who think a negative test is all you need to travel safely, then you might want to read this from CNN: “A negative test result should not give Americans the confidence to travel for the holidays. Tests can return either false positive or negative results, Department of Health and Human Services official Brett Giroir said Tuesday. “If you do get a negative test, it doesn’t give you a free pass,” he said, explaining that tests aren’t always an indication of whether someone is infected at that current moment.”
If for some reason you need more validation to stay home, then see this tweet by Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). “A very different pre-Thanksgiving travel day at LAX. If you don’t have to travel this year, it’s better not to. For those still flying, we are providing safe, clean facilities.” If an AIRPORT is telling you not to travel unless it’s essential, then you know it’s got to be for a good reason.
If you do have to travel this week, the FAA has some great advice for those traveling by air with perishable items. They tweeted: “Packages with dry ice (carbon dioxide solid) must vent, be properly marked, and not exceed a certain weight during a flight. Check with your airline, @TSA, and our website for more information at https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/.
They also included this helpful graphic:
Happy Thanksgiving and stay safe!
