Legislation in Aviation

The National Airline Preparedness Plan Act of 2022.

As far back as 2015, during the Ebola epidemic, the Government Accountability Office recommended that the Department of Transportation develop a national aviation preparedness plan for disease outbreaks. The Government Accountability Office said in June 2020 that a plan could have improved coordination between public health and aviation sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic to address issues like passenger screening. The new legislation approved by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on July 20 and now passed by the House calls for an adaptable and scalable framework for airports and air carriers to align plans, including the emergency response plans, of such airports and air carriers and provide guidance as to each individual plan.

On November 15, 2022, the House of Representatives passed the National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2022. The Act directs the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Homeland Security to develop a National Aviation Preparedness Plan. The bill also mandates improved coordination between federal agencies, identification of strategies to stop the spread of communicable disease outbreaks, and increased collaboration between U.S. air carriers, airports, aviation workers, the Department of Transportation, and other federal agencies to ensure a more effective response to future pandemics. The House of Representatives' passage of this bill is a big step toward answering the need for a coordinated national strategy to prevent the spread of disease by air travel which is a crucial element for pandemic response (Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 2022).

References

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. [Bill], National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2022: Report (to accompany H.R. 884) (117AD).