Officials at Lansing’s airport are expressing confidence in their ability to protect passengers from Coronavirus exposure, following news that a person known to have tested positive for the virus tried to board a flight.
Last Friday, the Ingham County Health Department alerted Capital Region International Airport officials that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 might be trying to board a flight.
Marketing manager Spenser Flynn says the person had checked in for a flight but was stopped before reaching security and left voluntarily. It was late in the day, and a high level cleaning protocol was followed before any travelers tried to check in the next morning.
Flynn says TSA officers are on the lookout for passengers who may be sick. He explains that "The TSA is doing the screening, in terms of asking questions, making sure if they see any symptoms, asking about that and taking them aside and asking additional questions.”
Flynn says the TSA is looking into health screenings, but the equipment is expensive and hard to get.
He also praised airlines for frequently cleaning planes, saying this may be the "cleanest time ever" to fly.