0920-1181_Domestic Manifest PLF Supporting Statement Part B

Airline and Traveler Information Collection: Domestic Manifests and the Passenger Locator Form

(42 CFR Part 70 and 71)

(OMB Control No. 0920-1181)

Information collection ongoing without the use of a control number

Submitted January 14, 2021

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

Contents

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods 2

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods 2

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information 2

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with No Response 3

4. Tests of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken 4

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data 4

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

No statistical methods are used in this data collection.

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

The collection of accurate, timely, and complete contact information from airlines and travelers, via manifest orders and Passenger Locator Forms (PLF) enables Quarantine Officers in CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ) to notify state and local health departments in order for them to make contact with individuals who may have been exposed to a communicable disease during travel and identify appropriate next steps.

CDC is seeking approval for domestic airline manifest orders under 42 CFR 70.2.

CDC maintaining the use of the PLF for travelers arriving to the United States from foreign countries. As under the previous approval, CDC is requesting a separate accounting for respondents and burden associated with the use of the PLF for travelers on domestic flights within the United States. The potential respondent universe is therefore any individual (passenger or crewmember) who is traveling to or within the United States. In practice, the respondents are individuals at risk for an exposure to a communicable disease during air travel.

The description of the information collection following below is aligned with current practices.

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information

In the event that a communicable disease is identified in a traveler aboard an airline, and the disease presents a risk to co-passengers or crew, a CDC Quarantine Station staff member prepares the manifest order and cover letter templates and receives official approval to email or fax the order and cover letter to the appropriate airline company point of contact.

In the event that advanced notice to the airline operator is needed in extremely pressing cases of infectious diseases, an informal manifest request template is sent, which is followed as soon as possible by the formal order. If the airline operator responds to the informal request prior to the formal order, CDC will follow up with a formal receipt of manifest letter for the airline’s records.

Each order contains the specific pieces of data CDC requires for each passenger or crew at risk given the risk posed by the communicable disease. For airlines, CDC has developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for several infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and meningococcal disease. These SOPs detail in which seats with respect to the ill traveler passengers were at greatest risk for infection. Some SOPs for highly communicable or highly concerning diseases specify that a larger portion of the airplane, or even all passengers and crew, should be included in the manifest submission to CDC.

Ebola for instance, calls for the entire manifest, regardless of airplane size. In the case of measles and rubella, the entire manifest is requested if the airplane is less than 50 seats.

Once CDC receives the manifest information, CDC works with the Department of

Homeland Security to cross check passenger information with federal databases in order to ensure the most accurate contact and locating data is available. The information is compiled into a clean data set and each state health department receives pertinent identifying and contact information for those travelers residing in their state.

CDC uses the secure Epi-X system to provide the passenger or crew information to the state health departments. After the secure Epi-X message is sent, the CDC Quarantine Stations with jurisdiction for those states send a second notification to the state health departments by email to ensure that they are aware of the Epi-X notification and have the information necessary to perform the contact investigation as well as the appropriate optional outcome reporting form to send the investigation results back to CDC.

The PLF is used very rarely and only when there is a confirmation or a strong suspicion that there is an ill person on board an airline and that person suspected of being ill with a communicable disease of public health concern, i.e. a significant risk of spread to others onboard during travel. The ill or exposed individual must be identified prior to the airline arriving into the United States or prior to passengers or crew disembarking the airline or departing the airport for the use of the PLF to be considered. The PLF requests PII and contact information for potentially exposed travelers and is completed by the travelers and provided to CDC either prior to departure from the airline, upon departure, or at some other time prior to leaving the airport.

As with the data collected via the manifest orders, CDC uses the secure Epi-X system to provide the passenger or crew information to the state health departments. After the secure Epi-X message is sent, the CDC Quarantine Stations with jurisdiction for those states send a second notification to the state health departments by email to ensure that they are aware of the Epi-X notification and have the information necessary to perform the contact investigation as well as the appropriate optional outcome reporting form to send the investigation results back to CDC.

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with No Response

Response to this data collection is required. However, the information requested has been kept to the absolute minimum in order to minimize the public burden. CDC has also worked with airline partners to ensure the reporting burden is limited to that necessary to locate and notify potentially exposed passengers or crew.

4. Tests of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

The manifest order process and the PLF are parts of the core public health activities of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, and the division works closely with the airlines to ensure that manifest are submitted when ordered. The protocols and electronic systems used for this data collection are continually updated and improved for quality of data collection and ease of use for both the public, industry and CDC program administrators.

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

Not Applicable