Enforcement Notice Regarding Denying Boarding by Airlines of Individuals Suspected of Having Coronavirus

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings’ (Enforcement Office), a unit within the Office of the General Counsel, regulates whether airlines may limit access to transportation because a passenger has a communicable disease.  The Enforcement Office is issuing this notice to advise the public that airlines may screen passengers during the check-in and boarding process for flights to the United States from countries with travel health notices issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) stemming from an outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  If passengers seeking to travel from these countries to the United States display symptoms of COVID-19, airlines may deny boarding to them under certain circumstances.