At one point, it seemed like he was beginning to make a return to Europe with the opening of borders. In recent weeks, governments have begun to re-impose restrictions as COVID-19 cases have evolved across Europe. The industry is increasingly fitting in and impatting governments to take a look at strategies of choice over quarantine to prevent it from importing COVID-19.
Recently, several CEOs of major U.S. and British airlines have written to the British and US governments asking them to test as an option to quarantine agreements and reopen transatlantic routes. This week, the International Council of World Airports (ACI) also supported calls that oppose general quarantine. The ACI called for a “strong and consistent protocol” during the Covid-19 passenger test, which deserves to be “implemented only when required and as an option for general quarantine requirements”.
At London Heathrow, Collinson and Swissport announced today that their COVID-19 verification facility is in a position to be used. Heathrow Airport has also led the UK government to check the controls as an option to the 14-day quarantine of non-travel lounge countries. The new verification facility is located in Heathrow Terminal 2 and is specially designed for arriving passengers and wanting to be checked for COVID-19. Currently, the installation can perform more than 13,000 passenger controls per day, this can be increased.
Border PCR testing has been extensively tested around the world across 30 countries such as Germany, which have discovered it as safe. Jersey has also imposed mandatory access tests and, for the time being, has not noticed an increase in COVID-19 cases, believing it to be very effective in low-risk countries. More than 50% of the world’s busiest airports now offer airport testing.
The proposed pilot allocation will focus on a two-control model, which the UK government has known as its preferred option. The first verification would be performed at the verification center at the end, and a confirmation check would be maintained a few days after the first. With government approval, travellers who dial negative on either checkpoint would leave quarantine between five and eight days, compared to the current 14 days.
Collinson’s recent survey of 22,000 Flying Priority Pass members found that some travelers are willing to pay for a COVID-19 check to reduce travel restrictions. Within the new Terminal 2 testing area, Collinson nurses will help extract a swab, which will then be transported by Swissport staff to a specially compromised biotechnology laboratory in Collinson, near Heathrow. The checks will be carried out using the same protocols used by the NHS for the control of household swabs. The effects deserve to be available within seven hours of control.
Heathrow CHIEF executive John Holland-Kaye said: “The controls will not only be the “quarantine wheel that so many passengers have faced in Spain and France, but will also open flights to key trading partners such as the United States, Canada and Singapore. The studies themselves show that a double verification has a maximum point of accuracy in COVID detection. This facility is a ready-to-see opportunity to see how Britain can reopen its doors safely, as other countries do.”
With government support, the pilot of the new verification procedure may be available as a personal service to anyone with a flight landing at Heathrow Terminal 2, and within a few weeks for those arriving at Terminal 5. Collinson, Swissport and Heathrow have been in talks with various ministries to find a check style that allows safe travel and reduce the effect of quarantine.
The evidence proposed for the procedure is delicate enough to stumble upon COVID-19 debris even before a passenger has developed symptoms before they are infectious. So far, the UK government has not approved the proposal.
I spent 27 years working in the travel industry, much of the air traffic control. My real hobby has been to travel.
I spent 27 years working in the travel industry, much of the air traffic control. My real hobby has been at all times to travel in luxury at the lowest price imaginable. After a successful kidney transplant in 2016, I made the decision to turn my hobby into a full-time task and submitted my Turning Left for Less blog on luxury travel at a reduced cost. The blog appeared in Radio 4, Daily Mail, CNBC and newspaper i. I was founded in the UK, but I usually spend a lot of time flying around the world. My experience spaces are airline and hotel loyalty, all similar to British Airways and oneworld, as well as how to stay in the most productive hotels at a lower cost. I love looking for travel tips to pay less or simplify the trip. I also have a serious addiction to suitcases and travel accessories!