Puerto Rico seeks to suspend all incoming flights to battle COVID-19 spread
Update: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it is reviewing the government’s request. However, “in general, FAA policy does not permit the closure or restriction of airports that receive federal funds. Any request to restrict or close an airport must be approved by the FAA.”
Puerto Rico is asking U.S. authorities to suspend all domestic and international flights for 14 days as it hopes to further lock down the island to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
In a statement Wednesday, Gov. Wanda Vázquez said she made the request to Federal Aviation Administrator Stephen Marshall.
In the letter, she also asked the FAA to close all airports where local authorities aren’t screening incoming passengers, limit the air-strips where charter planes can land, and allow the island to limit all air traffic except for vital services and the military.
“Each of these requests is independent of each other,” Vázquez said. “We’re asking the FAA to allow one of them, or all of them, simultaneously.”
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory of 3.2 million, has six confirmed COVID-19 cases and has taken some of the most dramatic steps of any U.S. jurisdiction to control the virus.
On Sunday, Vázquez imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and ordered all non-essential businesses to close through March 30. Visitors and residents are being told to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. The island has also imposed a moratorium on cruise ships and started screening incoming passengers at its principal international airport in San Juan.
“Puerto Rico is an island. Just a few days ago, we didn’t have cases of coronavirus [and] COVID-19, and now, due to the arrival of tourists by boat and plane, we have five positive cases,” Vázquez said. “We don’t want more cases in Puerto Rico.”
By Wednesday evening, local media outlets were reporting there was a sixth confirmed case at the Veterans Affairs Hospital.
In addition to those six positive cases, Puerto Rico is awaiting results from 21 tests, and 31 others have come back negative.
The first five positive cases are all tied to travelers, Puerto Rico’s Health Department confirmed. The first two cases announced on the island March 13 were an Italian couple who were taken off the Costa Luminosa cruise ship and remain hospitalized in San Juan.
Several U.S. cities and states have followed Puerto Rico’s lead, imposing curfews and shutting businesses, but for the FAA to allow Puerto Rico to cancel flights would be highly unusual.
Late Wednesday, the FAA said it was reviewing Puerto Rico’s request.
“In general, FAA policy does not permit the closure or restriction of airports that receive federal funds,” the agency said. “Any request to restrict or close an airport must be approved by the FAA.”
The FAA did not say if, or how fast, it might respond to Puerto Rico’s request.
Closing the airport — a source of new coronavirus cases — makes sense, said Rosa Negron, a 62-year-old retired teacher. It doesn’t make sense for the entire island to be living on lockdown if there are not tighter controls at the airport, she said.
“We have to do whatever it takes to fight this,” she said, as she stepped out of her home briefly to buy food.
With a weak healthcare system and aging population, Puerto Rico is seen as particularly vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus.
By and large, the calls for social isolation seem to be working. The police say they’ve made 36 arrests and filed 85 charges for breaking the curfew over the last three nights.
“Today we’ve been patrolling the northern parts and western parts of the island and they’re very quiet,” said police spokesman Axel Valencia. “People seem to be responding to the crisis.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Puerto Rico seeks to suspend all incoming flights to battle COVID-19 spread."
