As Lufthansa looks to expand Covid-19 testing for
passengers, the carrier plans to make faster testing options a "premium
service", according to a Lufthansa executive.
Speaking on a web call to media on Tuesday, Lufthansa Group
senior director of product management and ground and digital services Bjoern
Becker said the carrier plans to introduce antigen testing for the virus to
passengers next month. Unlike Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, antigen
testing can be processed outside of a lab, making results available within 15
minutes or so, compared with several hours for a PCR test, he said.
Initially, however, the amount of antigen tests available
will be limited, so in the first weeks they will likely only be available to
premium customers, according to Becker.
"People who really need to fly often, once or twice a
month, will need to have the fast test," Becker said. "If I go on
holiday, it's not that tough for me if I need to wait six hours for results
just once in a year."
While antigen tests are faster, they also have a higher
chance of missing active infections, according to the US Food and Drug
Administration.
Lufthansa has been working with Centogene to provide airport
Covid-19 testing in Frankfurt and Hamburg and on Wednesday expanded testing to
Düsseldorf. The Frankfurt testing centre already has a Fast Lane for Business
Class, First Class and HON Circles Members and Senators. The carrier has been testing
in Munich as well, and Becker said it plans to expand further, including to
airports in the US and Canada.