WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz is pressuring the government to clamp down on air travel from West Africa.
Citing the Liberian patient being treated in Dallas for Ebola, Cruz, R-Texas, wrote the Federal Aviation Administration demanding assurance that the FAA is “doing everything within its authority to prevent the spread of this infectious disease.”
Public health authorities have insisted that a travel ban is unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. CDC director Tom Frieden reiterated the point this afternoon. But he and others also concede that screening in Liberia and other nations where Ebola is raging cannot detect or deter every infected traveler — especially those without symptoms.
FAA issued temporary flight restrictions on Israel when rockets were falling near Ben Gurion Airport. But it’s unclear whether this or some other agency — such as CDC or Customs — would have authority to block flights and travelers from West Africa.
“Given the severity of this virus and the fact that its spread to Texas has been associated with travel, it is imperative that the FAA take every available precaution in preventing additional cases from arriving in the United States,” Cruz wrote FAA administrator Michael Huerta in a letter the senator’s office shared with the news media. “As you may be aware, several African nations have already restricted or banned air travel to countries with confirmed cases of the Ebola virus. British Airways, Emirates Airlines and Kenya Airways have also suspended flights due to the rising death toll and deteriorating public health situation in Ebola-stricken countries.”
Cruz’s letter asks for details of any steps FAA intends to take “to limit or suspend air travel to countries that have experienced a significant Ebola outbreak.”
He also asks whether passengers will be notified that they flew on a flight with anyone later confirmed to have Ebola. United Airlines voluntarily disclosed the flights Thomas Eric Duncan flew from Liberia to Brussels and then to the United States; health authorities have issued repeated assurances that since he had no symptoms during his journey, there is no chance he spread the infection to fellow travelers.
Duncan apparently lied to airport screeners in Liberia by denying recent exposure to Ebola.
The FAA had no direct response to Cruz’s letter.
“The health and welfare of flight crews, airline workers and the traveling public is a priority of the FAA,” the agency said in a statement. “We work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as other federal government partners on issues of public health and on disease awareness, when appropriate.”
Cruz’s letter:
Sen. Ted Cruz letter to FAA re Ebola