John F. Kennedy International Airport — the largest airport in New York — has the highest number of employees in the country who have tested positive for coronavirus.
According to data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 95 TSA employees — 88 of whom are screening officers — have COVID-19. The officer with the most recent case of the virus worked at the airport and was in contact with passengers and other personnel as late as April 14.
At Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, 48 employees — at least one of whom was working until April 12 — have coronavirus, according to the TSA.
LaGuardia Aiport in Queens, N.Y., had the third-highest number of infected employees, with 28 testing positive for the virus.
“TSA is committed to notifying the public about airport locations where TSA employees or screening contractors have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus,” the agency said in a statement.
Both New York and New Jersey have been the hardest hit states by the coronavirus pandemic in the US.
Fears of the virus triggered strict social distancing rules from state to state, which in turn slowed demand for travel and crippled the airline industry across the nation and worldwide. In the US, the Treasury Department is slated to send $50 billion to keep airlines afloat, although travel is expected to remain stagnant until at least six months after lockdown restrictions are lifted.
International seat capacity dropped by almost 80 percent when compared to this time last year and half of the world’s airplanes are out of commission, according to a report by Reuters.
In total, TSA reported that 459 federal employees have tested positive for coronavirus. Of those, 110 have recovered and four have died.
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