Sea-Tac Airport lays out precautions for travelers from U.K., South Africa
Dec 31, 2020, 3:05 PM
These are the signs travelers see as they make their way from the arrivals gate to customs. (Photo courtesy of Port of Seattle)
(Photo courtesy of Port of Seattle)
As the first cases of the new COVID variant spreading through the United Kingdom and South Africa have been detected in the U.S., Sea-Tac Airport is trying to keep it from making its way to Washington.
The new variant appears to spread faster than other strains of the virus, but the jury is still out on why. Dr. Trevor Bedford, associate professor of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, at Fred Hutchinson, said it could simply be more contagious, but it could also cause more asymptomatic cases or a longer presymptomatic period — both of which could lead to more people going out and about, not realizing that they are sick.
Last week, Governor Inslee announced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all travelers arriving from the U.K. and South Africa (and any future countries that have significant outbreaks with the new variant). Since November, there has already been a recommended quarantine for travelers arriving from anywhere outside of Washington, but this latest one is a legal requirement.
Inslee said he does not intend to jail people for violating the quarantine, but he is working with airlines to notify all affected passengers to the new order. That includes finding and alerting passengers who are flying from another American city to Seattle, as a layover during a trip from the U.K. or South Africa.
Perry Cooper, senior manager of media relations for aviation with the Port of Seattle, said that when a person makes an airline reservation from those countries to Seattle, they are notified of the new requirement right away. If they made the reservation before the mandate was in place, they have since been informed. They are once again reminded just before they board their flight to Seattle.
Then at the other end of the international flight, Cooper said that Sea-Tac is also doing its part to help enforce the governor’s order. As international travelers make their way from the South Satellite to customs, they will see a series of lit-up signs describing the quarantine order.
“We’ve got signage in the customs area as people would come off the airplanes, multiple signs through the spaces where they would be walking through, the corridors, the entrances to the counters where they would interact with the customs officials,” Cooper explained.
They again see the signs between customs and baggage claim, and then once more when leaving the terminal altogether. This way, people who are flying domestically but who began their journey in the U.K. or South Africa before their American layover also can’t miss the signs.
Additionally, per the CDC’s new requirement that travelers from the U.K. get tested for coronavirus before flying, local CDC/CBP officials will check for proof of a negative COVID-19 test at customs.
Cooper said right now, there are actually very few flights going to the U.K., compared with normal years. Seattle previously had flights to London from British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Norwegian Air, with British Airways flying as often as twice a day to London-Heathrow. Now, it’s just down to British Airways — and not nearly as frequently as twice daily.
“They’ve been running three to four times a week — the passenger load has been pretty low, as all of the internationals have been during this time,” Cooper said.
Cooper said international passengers are down about 75%, making it inefficient for airlines to have many international flights. Most of the people traveling these routes are essential workers.
Sea-Tac has never had a direct route to South Africa.
