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1
SUMMARY
Quarantine Facilities for Arriving Air Travelers:
Identification of Planning Needs and Costs
Threats to public health are a concern to the air travel industry for many reasons, not the least
of which is the potential for air travelers to be ill with one of nine communicable diseases that
could require quarantine at or near an airport.
The threat of pandemic flu and the specter of terrorists using pathogens as a weapon have
mobilized many government and defense agencies which are addressing how to detect and con-
tain the spread of potentially deadly illnesses to the general public. Since one of the most effec-
tive means of controlling communicable diseases is to reduce the exposure of healthy individu-
als to persons who have the illness, the subject of quarantine has surfaced as a critical tool to be
employed when necessary.
The Airport Cooperative Research Program sponsored research undertaken by TriData the divi-
sion of System Planning Corporation into what would be necessary to effectively quarantine up
to 200 travelers from an international flight for 2 weeks, and how much it might cost. This
study also presents information on the nature of quarantine and the laws that authorize this
form of medical surveillance.
There are four phases of quarantine: (1) the decision to quarantine, (2) establishing quarantine,
(3) quarantine operations, and (4) demobilization (including recovery). For this study, quaran-
tine at an airport facility away from the main terminal was the premise on which a range of costs
was estimated. These costs include the price for stand-by readiness, the costs of activating the
site, the financial requirements attendant to operating a quarantine for 2 weeks, and recovery or
demobilization costs. Each of these is described in terms of the specific services, supplies, and
some of the infrastructure that would be needed.
The research revealed that the estimated cost to acquire and maintain basic supplies would be
over $100,000. In addition, the value of the space that would be needed might cost about $15,000
per month, though this figure would vary widely given market conditions and location. Once a
quarantine is ordered, the costs to activate it (setting up accommodations, renting showers,
portable toilets, adding telephone lines, and so forth) could run another $20,000 more. The
biggest price tag would apply to the round-the-clock operation of lodging, food, recreation, com-
munications, sanitation, basic health services, security, and cleaning which was estimated to be
almost $150,000 for the duration of the quarantine. Closing out the site and managing the
records would add another $5,000 (conservatively) to the cost. In round figures, then, a quaran-
tine established under the parameters of this study could cost over a quarter of a million dollars.
This figure does not include stand-by costs of approximately $15,000/month for an indefinite
period, representing the value of the space, which could easily dwarf all other costs.
