US officials want more traveler information from airlines to aid coronavirus response

US officials are pressing airlines to collect and share more data on international travellers with federal health officials combating the coronavirus, two officials said. The matter has been a focal point of discussions between US officials and major airlines ahead of VP Mike Pence's meeting with airline representatives this week, and officials said the issue will likely be a focus of the meeting unless the matter is resolved ahead of time. The data request includes contact information that would help health officials follow up with potential carriers of the coronavirus, or fellow travellers who may have come into contact with an infected person. The request itself is outlined in an interim final rule the US CDC and US Department of Health and Human Services issued in mid-February. It requests airlines provide, within 24 hours of a CDC request, each passenger's name, "address while in the United States," email address and both a primary and secondary phone number. The complication, according to an industry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, is that many air carriers don't currently collect some of the contact details the CDC is requesting. Bookings made through a third-party search engine, for example, may include very limited information about a passenger.<br/>