United Airlines, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has unveiled a voluntary program to collect customer contact tracing information for all international and domestic flights.
United Airlines Will Facilitate Contact Tracing
Months ago, I wrote that one reason the United States fell behind in controlling the pandemic was a failure to engage in any meaningful contact tracing. While hardly an easy task in a nation as populous or spread out as the USA, some contact tracing is better than no contact tracing.
Toward that end, United will facilitate information sharing in a way that promotes that goal.
During flight check-in, United passengers will be asked to voluntarily opt-in and provide contact information including email address, phone numbers, and a destination address. United says this effort “represents the airline industry’s most comprehensive public health contact information collection program to date and the immediate access to the data will better support the CDC’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and around the world.”
CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield noted:
“Contact tracing is a fundamental component of the nation’s public health response strategy for controlling the spread of communicable diseases of public health concern. Collection of contact information from air travelers will greatly improve the timeliness and completeness of information for COVID-19 public health follow-up and contact tracing.”
United’s program will roll out in phases. This week, voluntary collection will begin with all international arrivals. In the days ahead, United will add domestic and international outbound departures. Again, this program will be optional and passengers can opt-in using the United mobile app, at united.com or at an airport kiosk.
United’s Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist is quite enthusiastic about the news:
“Initiatives like testing and contact tracing will play a significant role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine is widely available. United continues to take a leadership role in both areas and is proud to support the CDC by doing our part to help them safeguard public health and safety.”
I tend to think the ship has already left the port. Nevertheless, while this new program will not likely play a “significant role” in slowing the spread of COVID-19, it will help some…and that is something to celebrate.
CONCLUSION
This is something that would have been far more helpful on an obligatory basis starting in March, but this is still a step in the right direction. Think of this way. Say you get infected by your seatmate but you don’t know it because you are asymptomatic. If you are made aware of the possible exposure, you may limit your contact with those more vulnerable around you. I’m all for it and will gladly share my information.
Will you also share your information or do you view it as too much of an invasion of privacy?
I can’t understand why this program, and others, are voluntary? I understand some people may have a privacy concern, but I don’t see how when you balance public health against privacy that an individuals privacy right would win out? What sort of benefits could an opt outer claim are important?
Also if a pax becomes positive sometime after taking the flight, how is that information sent to the CDC for processing with this program? Does the CDC receive a file with the names of all positive cases, or must the Covid19 positive pax somehow affirmatively report to the CDC or United about their positive test result?
I also think the Apple and Android Covid19 tracking mechanism should be mandatory and on by default. Again, I don’t see a valid or jusitiable reason based on the pandemic why a citizen should be able to opt out?
But I would be open to learning about what some of you think why people should be able to opt out, and tangible benefits of opting out someone could claim that might be more in the public interest than a robust contact tracing initiative?
@Boston, I agree with you 100%. All these measures should be mandatory — and should be enforced in every case without exception. It’s no different than having to present valid ID when checking in for a flight: Don’t like it? Have “privacy concerns”? Fine. Take your privacy concerns and get out of the airport, you’re not flying anywhere, period, because rules are rules, and the rules apply to everyone. End of discussion. There, you have your other options to get where you want to go.
If ID is a fully-enforced, no-exceptions requirement for every passenger on every flight, so should be mask-wearing and contact-tracing. No exceptions for spoiled 2 year olds, zero tolerance for spoiled adult children who won’t comply. Morons need to learn to behave, or go found your own utopian anarchist society somewhere else.
@Boston
Making stuff like this mandatory will mean people will put fake email, phone numbers and destination addresses. UA can’t verify any of this and has no recourse or punishment to hand out. While you already have to give that info when entering certain countries, they would have enforcement power through police or health authorities.
Hey – if you worry about privacy you dont get to fly! Hey Bupkiss – seems like you would be more at home in the old East Germany. It is too late for contract tracing to make any impact at all. this is all about control.
You have the right to travel, even to fly. You do not have the right to fly on a commercial flight. The government and airlines can place any restrictions they want on that short of discriminating on race, gender or religion (a rational basis test). And actually, even modest contact tracing and mandatory quarantine would be able to move the trend of the disease down even from the horrific levels we are currently at in Nevada (highest hospitalizations per capita in the US). My firm has a mandatory use of the NV Dept. of Health and Human Services contact tracing app even for those WFH because if you’re going to be an idiot, we’re going to limit the damage to our staff and clients. We can make any condition on employment that doesn’t discriminate against a protected class (again, rational basis test). But, Scott has concerns. Somebody notify the Supreme Court about how wrong they’ve been.
And this is how Big Brotherism and Socialism take over a country. Brainwash people that this is good for them and everyone else. To hxll with your rights and privacy and the rights and privacy of everyone you come in contact with. The government loads all this information into their master computer and track you and everyone you have contact with. Just like they do with your electronic devices. The next step is mandatory microchipping, which Bill Gates advocates to prove you’ve been vaccinated.
I’ll give you $1,00,000 if you can show me where in the Constitution your right to privacy exists. I’ll give you a hint, it’s in the same sentence as the words airline, socialism and God. You have a protection against self-incrimination and a protection against unlawful search and seizure, but the court has clearly delineated those rights from privacy. The closest the court has come to recognizing a right to privacy was probably Lawrence v. Texas which govern the state intruding on private behavior. The Roe, Casey, Lawrence line of cases make no mention of your personal information or any acts you commit in public, like go to an airport or fly on a plane.
Socialism would be the government owning the means of production. You idiots saying United can’t run their airline the way they want are way more socialistic than anything in my post.
In short, don’t try to pull that Dunning-Kruger shit here. We have actual experts.
100%correct. Learn the tactics of Joseph Goebbels and the Stazi before you accept any of these “ideas”. Bad history repeating itself
@Scott – Honestly, public behavior and public stupidity have become so bad and so pervasive, we could really use a modest dose of that East German discipline.
You’re shocked and outraged? Then I have six words for you to consider:
Emotional Support Animals. President Donald Trump.
I rest my case.
Oh HELL no. We are rapidly enabling governments that behave badly into becoming police states. The WWII generation are rolling over in their graves thinking “we fought and gave lives for this?” The genies we are letting out of the box are downright scary and will be hard to put back. Pathetic how stupid and unintelligent many “educated” people have become. Fear is a dangerous motivator and media, governments and “science” are making use of it in Goebbels like fashion
I support a mandatory phone number for check-in, so the airline can send a text message with a code to enter into the check-in app. Use a second number (Google Voice). People just do not care. We’re in the middle of a pandemic, for crying out loud. The government relies on the public to be wise and to socially distance, but here we are with a record number of deaths and hospital overcapacity.
This why i will not fly with this airline!!!