Departing
passengers travelling through Heathrow’s terminals 2 and 5 can from today make
use of the first pre-departure Covid tests from a major UK airport.
The facility, run by travel services firm Collinson and ground handler Swissport,
offers so-called LAMP Covid-19 tests for passengers travelling to destinations
that require pre-departure tests, such
as Hong Kong and Italy. It will be run for an initial four-week trial
period.
Tests at the facility cost £80 and passengers must book a test online ahead of arrival at the airport and
will be provided timing guidelines to ensure on-time check-in. The companies
aim to provide departing passengers with their results in around 60 minutes.
LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification)
tests - developed by Oxford University - differ from the PCR tests which are required in some destinations such
as Cyprus, Greece, the Bahamas and Bermuda in that they can be processed
quickly and without being sent to a laboratory.
The opening of the new facility complements Collinson and Swissport’s
existing ‘Test-on-Arrival’ facility at Heathrow, that, while made available for
use in August, is still yet to gain UK government approval for use.
David Evans, joint CEO at Collinson, said, “With
countries around the world adding the UK to their list of ‘high risk’
countries, we need to find a way to work with governments, leading travel
brands and other commercial entities to safely open up travel out of the UK.
“Government restrictions around the world will continue to fluctuate, but we,
with our medical services and biotech partner network, have the capability to
flex our offering to bespoke country needs, ensuring that, whatever the
restriction, we can provide a way to keep travel moving, safely, without
negatively impacting UK public testing capacity.”
Heathrow
CEO, John Holland-Kaye, said: “Many other countries are already using testing
to keep their borders safe while restarting trade and travel. These
facilities will make it easier for passengers going to those countries to get a
test and have the potential to provide a service for arriving passengers.
“Ultimately, we need a common international standard for pre-departure testing,
and we welcome the UK government’s recent announcement that it wants to take a
global lead in establishing this. We will work with them to make this
happen as soon as possible, so that we protect livelihoods as well as lives.”
British Airways’ chief executive Sean Doyle said:
"The UK’s economic recovery depends on the swift re-opening of the UK's
skies and we need a worldwide agreement that fast, reliable pre-departure
testing is the safest and quickest way to get people flying again. The
latest data from IATA suggests the risk of contracting Covid-19 on aircraft is
extremely low. It’s vital we work together as an industry to explore every
option to get travel moving."
Virgin Atlantic CEO, Shai Weiss, said: “The testing
facilities established at Heathrow Airport by Collinson and Swissport are an
excellent demonstration of the industry working together to offer rapid, on
site, pre-departure customer testing that allows passengers to fly safely and
does not compete for, nor divert, vital gold standard NHS resources.
“We
urgently need the introduction of a passenger testing regime here in the UK to
safely replace quarantine. As long as the 14-day quarantine remains in place,
demand for travel will not return and the UK’s economic recovery, which relies
on free flowing trade and tourism, cannot take off.
“Half a million UK jobs
depend on open skies and a fully functioning UK aviation industry. The government’s
global travel taskforce must act swiftly to replace quarantine with passenger
testing in November.”
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has also welcomed the news.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC president & CEO, said: “It is very encouraging to see the door beginning to open to allow airport testing on departure. We have 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."
“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," she said.
“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."
Guevara added: “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."