Long lines and hourslong waits for required medical screenings greeted weary travelers returning to some U.S. airports amid coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
The dense crowds Saturday at some of the 13 airports where travelers from Europe are being funneled – among the busiest across the country – formed even as public health officials called for “social distancing” to stem the spread of the pandemic.
Lines appeared to be shorter Sunday morning at the affected airports, but more flights had yet to arrive.
Austin Boschen was returning from a spring break trip to Jalisco, Mexico, with his girlfriend and described the situation Saturday at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as “atrocious, no semblance of a line beyond the barriers and no officials or staff around to direct.”
He and his girlfriend managed to get near the front of the crowd and learned people there had already been waiting for two hours, he wrote in an email; he reached the head of the line 2 1/2 hours later, and then waited another hour and a half to see an agent.