Rapid outbound COVID-19 testing for passengers has been launched at London’s Heathrow Airport, designed to return results in an hour, in an effort to re-open restricted routes and boost traffic for airlines. Travel industry has largely welcomed this, who has been calling for a rapid and cost-effective testing on departure regime at airports around the world for several months now, so this is a step in the right direction.
The tests were launched on Tuesday in conjunction with the airport, IAG’s British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific, initially for flights to Hong Kong, where incoming passengers must be able to show proof of a negative test.
Many countries currently require passengers to provide evidence of a negative COVID test prior to departure, but allow for testing technologies that can deliver fast results. These tests, including LAMP and Antigen tests, can easily be administered pre-flight at the airport.
These tests differ from RT-PCR, which a growing number of countries and territories around the world, including Cyprus, Greece, Bahamas, and Bermuda now require to be shown at check-in. Unlike RT-PCR tests, LAMP and Antigen tests can be processed quickly and without being sent to a laboratory. But it isn’t cheap. The private test costs £80 and aims to provide departing passengers with their results in around 60 minutes.
“(Testing) is a key part of the solution for getting travel moving again. There’s a lot of support to make sure that we can get these things up and running, and moving quickly,” said David Evans, joint chief executive of medical travel firm Collinson, which is running the tests with airport services company Swissport.
The firms have also set up an inbound testing facility at Heathrow, though it is yet to be approved for use by the government.
Britain is looking at ways to reduce the 14-day quarantine period which applies to some arriving passengers, using a mix of COVID-19 testing and self-isolation. A taskforce looking at the issue will report back in November.
“I think the government’s been too slow to listen to the evolving medical evidence,” Evans told Reuters.
Collinson use a so-called “LAMP” test that can produce results in around about 60 minutes, much faster than the PCR tests in use which can take more than a day to be processed in labs.
Evans said he expected outbound testing to be rolled out for Italy and other European destinations in the coming days and weeks.
“As with security screening when it came in… this will be something that we’re going to be living with for the next six to twelve months, and perhaps beyond,” he said.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “It is very encouraging to see the door beginning to open to allow airport testing on departure. Latest WTTC research shows the positive effect airport testing will have to revive international air travel, bring back jobs and resuscitate the global economy. Almost 20 million jobs across Europe could be saved, including three million in Germany, 1.93 million in the UK, 1.91 million in Italy and more than 1.5 million in France.
“That is why we support the introduction of schemes at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris, Heathrow in London and the recent trial which took place between Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and Milan Linate. We hope this will inspire other countries to follow their lead and implement similar initiatives.
“However, to save the global Travel & Tourism sector, we need a standardised international testing protocol. Full cooperation and coordination are crucial to restore seamless travel and remove ineffective and costly quarantines.
“Removing or significantly reducing quarantine times, already introduced by some countries, could restore vital international business travel, first on short-haul flights and then between important financial hubs, such as Frankfurt, London and New York and other key transatlantic services.
“With the commercial aviation sector hanging in the balance, it is more important than ever that we explore every practical avenue to speed up airport testing through targeted pilots.”