Why Ebola air travel restrictions keep changing

In recent days, Ebola-related restrictions on travel keep changing, sometimes in ways that can be confusing to airline passengers and to the general public. There are two basic reasons why this is happening, the first being the changing nature of the Ebola outbreak, and the second because there are several kinds of independent decision makers when it comes to Ebola travel policies.

The changing face of Ebola
As of late October 2014, Ebola remains a serious epidemic, and according to the CDC, over 10,000 people have been infected with roughly 5,000 dead. The largest number of cases are in three west African countries, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. There have been at least five other countries with one or more Ebola cases, and for two these countries, the US and Nigeria, the virus was carried there by an airline passenger.

US response
The response of US authorities has been varied, with the key responses including the following:

• Federal requirements that air travelers who fly directly from Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra Leone enter the US in to one of five airports, each of which has a screening program to evaluate travelers from those countries.
• Additional requirements from several states (including states containing at least four of the five entry airports) that include some form of quarantine for some or all travelers who have been exposed to Ebola.
• US military authorities have either quarantine or evaluation programs for military personnel who have provided support in efforts to address Ebola in west Africa.

Why is the US concerned?
Although there have only been a handful of Ebola cases in the US, there has been a very high level of interest and concern by the public and the US government in keeping Ebola from becoming a serious problem. This concern is likely based on the reality that there is a significant number of people who travel between the US and those countries most affected by Ebola, including thousands of medical professionals and military members who are directly involved with fighting the epidemic in west Afria; and citizens, residents, and visitors from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

Who makes Ebola decisions in the US
In the US, various units of government are able to make decisions independently of one another, and that can lead to multiple, overlapping, and sometimes contradictory policies. In the case of Ebola, a few of the independent decision makers include the following:

• The federal government can enforce policies involving things like air transportation, travel between US states, and border security.
• Individual states, including cities, counties, and smaller government units within the states, can enforce restrictions or quarantines on air travelers that go beyond federal requirements.
• Military organizations, in addition to having access to its own air transportation system, can impose restrictions on members of the armed forces that may go far beyond those imposed by either the states or by federal governments.

In addition to units of government, individual travelers can make decisions that can easily circumvent the restrictions of the federal or state governments, largely because federal and state governments often have to rely on information provided by air travelers and have no way to independently verify a traveler's claims about their travel history.

So far, no individual air traveler has has caused someone in the US to contract Ebola due to deliberately avoiding the current screening and restriction programs or because of a failure of one of those programs. Should that happen, or should there be a sharp increase in the number of Ebola cases in the US, it is very likely that one or more government organizations may change air transportation rules in significant and unpredictable ways.

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Background information
AskThePilot.com on air travel bans
Air travel bans to control epidemics
Background information on Ebola
Background information on SARS

Why an air travel ban for Ebola may not help

In the days after the first Ebola fatality in the US in early October 2014, from a person who contracted the disease in Liberia and later flew to Dallas, TX, there have been concerns in some circles, most notably in the political arena and throughout social media, that there should be some kind of travel ban put into effect to keep other infected persons from traveling to the US. These concerns were due in part to the fact that two of the medical personnel who were involved with the treatment of the Ebola patient in Dallas also contracted Ebola.

US government passenger screening
In mid-October 2014, the US government implemented a screening process to check travelers flying to the US from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea for either Ebola-like symptoms, or exposure to the Ebola virus. This was done to manage the risk the US population faced from travelers who may be infected with the Ebola virus and who knowingly or unknowingly fly to the US.

The screening program was in effect for five US airports that accounted for about 95% of the travelers to come to the US directly from those countries. This program lessened the effect of a risk, specifically making it less likely that someone exposed to or infected by Ebola would also expose the general population to that disease.

While this screening program provided some protection from arriving passengers who may have been exposed to Ebola, it did not go as far as an outright ban of travel by people from that region, a ban which could potentially have eliminated the risk or made it much less likely to occur.

Reasons a ban may be impractical
While the idea of a ban on travel to and from the three most affected African countries, may appear to be a prudent step to take to keep the epidemic from spreading to America, there are a number of reasons that it may not be effective, and in fact may make it harder to control the Ebola epidemic in the most heavily impacted countries. A few of those reasons include the following:

• No US airline provides direct service to Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea, and the US government has no legal authority ban flights to the affected countries by non-US airlines.

• US citizens and permanent residents are allowed to travel to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea without prior approval from the US government.

• Banning international travel to or from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea would have done nothing to address domestic flights taken by those already in the US who were recently in one of those three countries.

• Several thousand US residents who are or may soon be traveling between those three countries and the US are medical professionals, civil servants, military personnel, and others who are or will be part of ongoing efforts to control the Ebola epidemic.

While the US at present has no outright travel bans in place, the changing nature of the Ebola epidemic may lead to some kind of travel ban in the future. For additional details on the kinds of travel bans that could be put into place, as well as why enforcing such bans may be difficult, visit AirSafe.com's Air travel bans to control epidemics page.

Background information
AskThePilot.com on air travel bans
Air travel bans to control epidemics
Background information on Ebola
Background information on SARS

Will your pilot use an iPad in the cockpit?

For most consumers, the personal electronics revolution of the past 20 years has meant massive changes in the kinds of affordable technology that we use at home, at work, or back in the passenger cabin. In the front of the aircraft, change doesn't happen very quickly. Innovations like GPS or even digital displays often take a slow and winding path over several years before the FAA would approve them for use in the cockpit.

It seems that this process has been sped up considerably in the case of the iPad. Less than a year after the iPad was initially offered to the general public, the FAA has allowed air charter company Executive Jet Management, which is a subsidiary of Warren Buffet's NetJets company, to use Apple’s iPad, combined with a specific software application, as an approved alternative to paper charts. Not only has this electronic device been approved for aviation use, it has been approved without any major design changes. Other likely early adopters would include companies providing Private Jet Charter services.

According to February 2011 Wired magazine article, the FAA approval process included demonstrating that an iPad could endure a rapid decompression from a simulated altitude of 51,000 feet and still provide critical navigation information. Prior to approval, Executive Jet Management also developed procedures for dealing with system or software crashes and other situations that are described in detail in FAA Advisory Circular 120-76A, which deals with requirements for electronic flight bags.

At present, this means that only those few passengers who fly in sleek corporate jets may see their pilot carrying an even sleeker iPad rather than a bulky case full of paper charts, but that may change soon. Rather than carting around suitcase-sized flight bag stuffed with dozens of charts and other reference materials, your pilot will be able to add to as many materials as he or she may need for the safe conduct of your flight. After all, no matter how many electronic documents are in an iPad, the weight doesn't change.

This is another innovation that may mean improved safety at all levels of aviation. While the iPad has been popular with pilots since its introduction last year, until now it had not been approved for use by the FAA either as a replacement for traditional paper charts or as a replacement for currently approved, but much more expensive, electronic flight bags. While the iPad can be purchased for several hundred dollars, most electronic flight bags cost at least several thousand dollars.

Coming soon to a major airline near you?
This first FAA approval for using the iPad in the cockpit gives airlines the opportunity to do the same. Currently, Alaska Airlines has about 100 pilots evaluating the iPad, and a spokesperson for Jeppesen; the Boeing-owned subsidiary that provides aeronautical charting and navigation services, including the TC Mobile software application in the recently approved iPad system; claims that several air carriers are interested in using the system as well.

Check it out for yourself
This is one of those rare situations where the average passenger, at least those who own iPads, can easily use and evaluate the same FAA approved equipment that a pilot can use. The TC Mobile application is free, and can be found through your iTunes app or online at the iTunes store. While the app is free and has free demonstration charts, downloading and using real aeronautical charts will cost you.

Other iPad Articles at AirSafeNews.com
Airline travel issues and the iPad
TSA Says you can keep your iPad, Kindle, or netbook in your bag

Full disclosure: Neither the author or AirSafe.com was compensated for this article by Boeing, Executive Jet Management, NetJets, Jeppesen, Apple, or by any other company or individual. The author also admits that he has the app on his iPad and thinks it looks really cool.