Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for major US airlines – and which counts Air Canada as an associate member – says its carriers will voluntarily pledge to refund tickets for any passenger who is found to have an elevated temperature during federal screening tests prior to travel in the US if and when they are implemented.

At press time, Air Canada had not yet responded to a query as to whether it would follow the lead of A4A members, which include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, and United.

Qualification for a refund will be based on pre-travel screenings conducted by federal authorities in the US (Travel Security Administration) and based on US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, whose standard for a fever is 38 °C (100.4 °F) or higher.

Currently, federally mandated tests are not being conducted at US airports but an A4A spokesperson in Washington, DC, told Travel Industry Today that the organization fully supports such measures.

“We have been encouraging the US government since May to ask TSA to implement temperature screenings as an additional layer of protection during this public health crisis. We continue to support that course of action as we all work to mitigate risk and protect the health and wellbeing of passengers and employees,” said Katherine Estep.

Frontier Airlines in the only carrier to implement temperature screening for passengers in the US, however, last week Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) launched a voluntary pilot project called The Terminal Wellness Project using thermal cameras to help identify travellers with an elevated body temperature.

According to ABC news, the TSA, as of June 23, said that “no decision” had been made on federally mandated testing as questions persist over whether government has the authority to implement them.