Tag Archive for: News and Updates

3/5/2020

Air travel plans may be affected by the virus. Check with your airline before heading to the airport.

The evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation may impact your air travel plans. Many airlines have posted travel alerts for passengers on their websites and have instituted flexible travel policies. Please check with your airline about the status of your flight before you leave for the airport. The following links are to airline-specific flight status updates:

• American Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• JetBlue Airlines
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines

3/3/2020

CDC Recommends Travelers Avoid All Nonessential Travel to Italy

The State Department and CDC recommend avoiding all nonessential travel to Italy due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).Travel advisories related to the virus now include the following countries:

• Italy
• South Korea
• Japan
• China
• Iran

The CDC has established an interactive map with country-specific travel health information about the virus. Travelers can also sign up to receive email updates about the virus on this same CDC webpage.

2/23/2020

Travel Advisories for South Korea and Japan

The State Department and CDC recommend travelers exercise increased caution when traveling to South Korea and Japan due to the virus.

The CDC also recommends that high risk travelers to South Korea and Japan exercise special precautions.

Travelers should also enroll in the State Departments Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive alerts and updates while traveling.

2/2/2020

Guidance from the CDC on What the Public, Air Carriers and Crews Can Do

The current outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus originated in China but has now spread internationally, impacting an increasing number of countries. In the coming days and weeks, we expect more confirmed cases in the United States, including more person-to-person spread.

The goal of an aggressive ongoing public health response is to prevent spread of this virus in the community in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide the following guidance to the public:

What You Should Do

• Stay informed CDC is updating its website daily with the latest information and advice for the public. (www.cdc.gov/ncov)
• Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent 2019-nCoV infection.CDC recommends routine preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses.These are everyday habits that can help prevent the spread of several viruses.

These actions include:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

CDC also has specific guidance for travelers.

The federal government has our best people working on this problem.And we have one of the strongest public health systems in the world.

What You Should Not Do

• CDC does not currently recommend the use of facemasks for the general public. This virus is not spreading in the community. While it is cold and flu season, we dont routinely recommend the use of facemasks by the public to prevent respiratory illness and we certainly are not recommending that at this time for this virus.
• We understand the recent recommendations including avoiding travel to China and the quarantine of U.S. citizens returning from Wuhan is concerning. The actions the federal government is taking are science-based and with the aim of protecting the health and safety of all Americans.
• Please do not let fear or panic guide your actions. For example, please dont assume that just because someone is of Asian descent that they have this new coronavirus. There are about 4 million Chinese-Americans in the United States.

Guidance for Air Carriers and Crews

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding its highly successful weather camera safety program to Colorado.

The FAA has entered into a cost-reimbursement agreement with the State of Colorado Division of Aeronautics to install weather cameras on 13 Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS) in mountainous areas, beginning in the spring of 2020.

These cameras will build on the success of a 20-year-old program in Alaska that has improved safety by providing near-real-time video to pilots from a network of more than 230 cameras across the state. In 1999, the FAA determined that pilots operating under Visual Flight Rules would benefit from actual views of the current weather conditions where they were destined and the FAA Weather Camera Program was born.

The 13 Colorado cameras will be the first to be integrated into the FAA Weather Camera Program outside of Alaska.In addition to the accurate weather information they receive from AWOS, pilots planning to fly above the Colorado Rockies will soon have the abilityto see real-time weather conditions along their routes before they depart their airports.

This effort is made possible through a $226,000 reimbursable agreement between the Colorado Division of Aeronautics and the FAA.Under this agreement, the FAA will assist the state with the camera installations, and the state will own and maintain the cameras. The FAAs weather camera website will display still images that each camera captures.