Top airline lobbyist: Flying is ‘totally safe’

The chief of the group that lobbies for airlines in Washington said Thursday that it is “totally safe” to fly on commercial airplanes, despite mounting fears among passengers about the potential spread of the deadly Ebola virus. 

Airlines for America (A4A) President Nicholas Calio said in a speech to the International Aviation Club of Washington, D.C., on Thursday that U.S. residents should not let concerns about Ebola stop them from flying commercial airlines. 

“We think that air travel is totally safe, and people should keep getting on airplanes, if you look at the facts of how the disease is communicated,” Calio said. 

{mosads}Airline and federal officials have sought to calm fears about the potential spread of Ebola at U.S. airports following the first domestic diagnosis of the deadly disease. 

The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., Thomas Eric Duncan, died on Wednesday. Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola shortly after he flew from Liberia to Dallas, with a layover in Washington, D.C., in September.  

Some lawmakers have been pushing for a ban on commercial airline flights between the U.S. and Ebola-stricken nations following Duncan’s diagnosis, but administration officials have rejected that move, arguing it would be counterproductive to relief efforts in the west African region.

Obama administration officials said Wednesday that they would instead begin increased Ebola screenings at five international airports that they said receive 94 percent of passengers from the African nations that are battling the disease. 

Calio admitted Thursday that airlines are monitoring the developments about Ebola as closely as their potential customers are. 

“Our members are working with CDC and the other agencies involved,” he said. “It’s obviously a difficult problem. Clearly people are alarmed at what’s happening.”  

The airline lobby leader said he was glad the administration was attempting to calm fears about Ebola, but he said he would not weigh in on the effective of the current plan to test passengers at specific airports that house a lot of international flights. 

“In terms of additional screening, we’re going to leave that to the government agencies involved,” Calio said.