Welcome to the 2021 honor Flight season! We are excited to share that Honor Flight will be resuming trips in August 2021. This date and the following information are subject to change; please check back here regularly for updates.

The purpose of this post is to outline how, and under what conditions, you can volunteer and support the DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew for the fall 2021 season.

By way of background, National released protocols that Honor Flight Hubs, trip participants, volunteers, etc. must follow when participating with Honor Flight. National created the protocols with the health and safety of all those involved with Honor Flight as the top priority. The DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew fully supports National and is adhering to the protocols and any future guidance that National provides. We extracted key excerpts from the protocols that are relevant to DC-area volunteers further below. You must read and adhere these protocols, if you intend on volunteering with Honor Flight or coming into contact with an Honor Flight group.

Based upon the protocols and Airline and Airport decisions, the following is how you can volunteer with Honor Flight for the fall 2021 season. In whatever volunteering capacity you chose, you must adhere to the protocols and any further guidance or procedures from the individual hubs, Airlines, Airport etc. The DCA Ground Crew will review its volunteering activities in advance of the spring 2022 season and make changes based upon National guidance and Airline and Airport officials.

Greeting at DCA

Any individual greeting at DCA airport will do so on his or her own volition, not as part of the DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew. The DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew will not be coordinating any volunteer activities at DCA airport for the fall 2021 season. The DCA Ground Crew will post the Honor Flight National schedule on the DCA website so individuals can see arrivals and departures as well as other trip information.

Those wishing to greet at DCA will do so outside of security only. There will be no Gate Access Passes issued to greet inside security for this fall 2021 season. Since the DCA Ground Crew will not be tracking volunteers who greet at DCA, we will not be issuing parking vouchers. Please visit DCA’s Parking Information webpage for details on parking availability and rates.

• American Airline (AA) arrivals and departures: AA arrivals and departures will be in Terminal B/C. AA arrivals and departures will be on Level 3 Door 6. As always, this is subject to change.

Greeting at the Memorials

Any individual greeting at any one of the memorials that Honor Flight groups visit will do so on his or her own volition. DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew will not be coordinating any volunteer activities at the Memorials for the fall 2021 season. The DCA Ground Crew will post the Honor Flight National schedule on the DCA website so individuals can see trip information. There will be a report summarizing the planned memorial arrival and departures for all Honor Flights regardless of the arrival airport. Please note all times listed are approximate and subject to changes throughout the day.

Serving as a Guardian

The DCA Ground Crew will provide a list of already trained guardians, who indicate that they still want to serve as guardians, to the hubs so the hubs can contact volunteers directly to serve as a guardian. The DCA Ground Crew will not be training, coordinating, or scheduling local guardians or serving as the liaison between hubs and our volunteer base for the fall 2021 season. It will be the hub’s responsibility to certify your vaccination or testing status and you will have to adhere to all the hub’s policies and procedures, which could vary from hub to hub.

The DCA Ground Crew may resume guardian training events in 2022 and will post information on the website when scheduled.

Serving as a Tour Guide

The DCA Ground Crew will provide a list of tour guides, who already have been through orientation and who also indicate that they still want to serve as tour guides, to the hubs so the hubs can contact volunteers directly to serve as tour guides. The DCA Ground Crew will not be holding orientations, coordinating, or scheduling local tour guides or serving as the liaison between hubs requesting tour guides and our volunteer base. It will be the hub’s responsibility to certify your vaccination or testing status and you will have to adhere to all the hub’s policies and procedures, which could vary from hub to hub.

The DCA Ground Crew may resume tour guide orientations in 2022 and will post information on the website when scheduled.

The DCA Ground Crew will review all of these policies in advance of the spring 2022 season and see what adjustments we can make. The best way to stay informed is to subscribe to our newsletter and check out our website.

In closing it is important to note that the DCA Ground Crew is taking this approach since the Ground Crew cannot and will not be responsible for individual’s actions while those individuals are volunteering with Honor Flight or coming into contact with an Honor Flight group due to the pandemic and the protocols. In this regard, the DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew assumes no liability or responsibility for any individual’s wearing a Ground Crew tee shirt (i.e. yellow shirt) or any other Honor Flight attire. Furthermore, the DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew assumes no liability or responsibility for individuals claiming to be volunteering as part of the DCA Honor Flight Ground Crew.

Thanks in advance for your understanding and thank you for your dedication throughout all these years in honoring our veterans.

Honor Flight Network 2021 Trip Protocols Effective as of June 4, 2021

Key Excerpts

“COVID Vaccine or Negative PCR COVID Test Required for All Participants

…In accordance with the CDC and D.C. Health Guidelines, for the 2021 travel season and until further notice from the HFN Board of Directors, all trip participants must be able to verify that the individual has either:

• Received the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine or the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at least 2 weeks prior to the travel departure date; OR
• Provided proof of a negative COVID PCR test result that was obtained no more than 72 hours prior to the trip departure date. The test used MUST be a PCR test, results of an antigen test or any other type of test is NOT acceptable. Hubs are strongly encouraged to notify those who will be testing (rather than vaccinating) of the PCR test requirement. Additionally, in accordance with CDC guidelines, the individual must agree to obtain a second test within 3-5 days upon return from the trip and to self-quarantine for 7 days after the trip.

Trip Participants subject to the above vaccine or testing requirement include veterans, guardians, and volunteers…”

“Information Regarding Volunteers

For purposes of the vaccine or testing certification, volunteers can be separated into two groups: Honor Flight Hub Volunteers and Guests/Outside Participants…

…Honor Flight Hub Volunteers. Honor Flight Hub Volunteers are those individuals who report to or whose actions or activities are directed by the Hub… 

…Similarly, this group includes volunteers at the DC-area airports whose actions or activities are directed by the DC-area airport coordinators. These are individuals who have in person contact with Honor Flight trip participants including but not limited to individuals who assist/direct trip participants through the airport and onto the charter buses both in the airport terminal and outside of the airport terminal. This group also includes DC-based guardians. Partially vaccinated or unvaccinated DC-based volunteers must follow the testing guidelines set forth above – with the timing of the test being 72 hours prior to coming into contact with any Honor Flight trip participants. In this regard, these individuals may have to be tested multiple times per week depending on the individual’s level of activity with respect to Honor Flight.”

“Guests/Outside Participants. Guests/Outside Participants include those individuals who may greet trip participants at DCA. This group does not have close physical contact with trip participants and is not assigned specific duties or tasks by the Hub with the exception of where and when to be present. This group of individuals may include bands, social organizations, school groups, military personnel, elected officials, color guards, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, service academy cadets, civil air patrol, etc. This group of people is NOT considered “volunteers” for purposes of these protocols. However, it is strongly encouraged that Guests/Outside Participants be separated from trip participants as much as possible using stanchions or other barriers that provide a safe distance between Guests/Outside Participants and the trip participants. Guests/Outside Participants will not be required to certify COVID-19 vaccination status, provide proof of a negative test, or perform a self-wellness check;…”

“Face Masks

Face masks are required to be worn at all times by all participants (including volunteers) while on charter buses, in an airport, and on an aircraft (commercial or charter). Additionally, face masks must be worn by all participants in accordance with the requirements of any and all venues visited during the trip. Mask requirements may differ across venue-type (i.e. hotels, restaurants, indoor venues and outdoor venues), as well as jurisdiction (i.e. DC, Virginia, Maryland, and federally governed locations such as the National Mall and airports).

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated trip participants or volunteers must wear a mask at all times, indoors and outdoors, with the sole exception of when actively eating or drinking. There are no exceptions to this requirement for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated trip participants or volunteers. Vaccinated trip participants do not need to wear a mask other than in the scenarios described in the paragraph immediately above (e.g. airports, airplanes, buses and per venue requirements)…”

Please note the protocols are subject to change.