Delta Air Lines said Thursday it will begin a new coronavirus contact tracing program to help keep travelers safe during the pandemic.
What’s going on?
Delta said it will partner with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the launch of the new program, which will look to keep “international customers informed of potential COVID-19 exposure.”
- “Along with our nine global airline partners, we are working with government agencies, health officials and aviation authorities to offer safer travel at every point in your journey,” Delta said in a release.
How it works:
Delta will start asking customers to provide information for contact tracing beginning Dec. 15. That information includes:
- Full name.
- Email address.
- U.S. address.
- Primary phone number.
- Secondary phone number.
The information will be sent to the CDC. This will allow the CDC to contact flyers who may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.
Delta faces danger
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said an employee memo that the pandemic has made people less interested in flying, CNBC reports. The company said there will likely be less bookings this winter.
“We’ve always said this was going to be a choppy recovery, and that’s been true in recent weeks — like others in the industry, we’ve seen some slowing of demand and forward bookings as COVID cases have risen across the U.S.,” Bastian said in the employee memo.