As the US continues to climb the COVID curve, a new temperature screening program has been launched at Los Angeles International Airport, the first of its kind in the US. The Terminal Wellness Project uses three types of thermal cameras to help identify travellers with an elevated body temperature in response to the coronavirus health crisis.

Introduced late last month, the pilot project by Los Angeles World Airports – which is voluntary – deploys cameras at the main entrance on the departures level and near select international arrivals inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal to screen both arriving and departing passengers.

The cameras are designed to rapidly identify people with body temperatures of 38°C (100.4°F) or more, which is the current guideline for detecting a fever set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The program comes amid continuing calls for the US federal government to implement (and conduct through the TSA) standardized temperature testing at airports across the country, a move supported by all major US airlines, who also recently pledged to refund fares to passengers who test positive and are refused travel by the TSA.

At LAX, signage alerts passengers where the test takes place. If a participant is identified as having an elevated body temperature, a medical professional near the camera operator will approach the identified person and request a secondary screening using a handheld, non-contact thermometer. Departing guests who are identified as having an elevated body temperature will be advised not to travel. Passengers on arriving international flights identified as being potentially ill may be referred to CDC staff on site.

The thermal camera temperature checks will not replace other safety measures in place, which includes signage directing guests to practice social distancing, to wear a face covering at all times, and wash hands frequently. LAX has also increased deep cleaning throughout the airport focusing on “high touch” areas and has installed more than 250 hand sanitizer stations.

While the airport says it will share program results with partners that include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), CDC, airlines and airports around the world in an effort to set new standards for the aviation industry, it assures that guest privacy will be protected and that cameras will not store, transmit, or share any data or images taken. Guests who decline to participate will have the opportunity to use a different pathway.

Prior to the pandemic, LAX was the third busiest airport in the world and second in the US (after Atlanta) and moved a record 88.1 million travellers in 2019. In April, passenger traffic at LAX was more than 95 percent below what it was a year earlier.

Other airports globally have introduced similar trials and Canada has begun phased-in temperature screening measures for all arriving and departing passengers and will have screening stations in most airports by September.

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