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Will there be a shortage of COVID testing for travel?
Yesterday I broke the news that one of the main UK labs for private COVID testing will not be offering processing for tests for holidays. The Telegraph wrote a report on this today with some further details. The laboratory involved is the Doctor’s Laboratory which processes tests for many of the companies offering private travel testing. A spokesman told the Telegraph that due to the rise in cases and demand which meant they were over capacity and were therefore prioritising clinical and work related testing. Some companies have stopped offering the tests altogether unless it is work related travel. Other companies say they are struggling to provide turn around within 72 hours as demanded by most countries. One exception to this is currently Antigua which only requires a test within 7 days.
This means that it will be more difficult to get a test and that prices may rise. Heathrow previously set up a testing centre at T2 with its own lab designed for inbound passengers. If Heathrow wants to save its remaining travel, (travel is down 92% this year on 2019) it should look at using the capacity for outbound travellers until the government agrees to allow testing as an alternative to quarantine. Results are usually available in 7 hours with their lab. It would be perfect for passengers to spend the night before at a Heathrow hotel to get their test ready for travel the next day.
So if you have a flight and can’t get test what can you do? In other areas of Europe testing seems to be cheaper and easier. For example you could go to Turkey for a mini break just before and get your test at Istanbul airport which is quick, cheap and efficient. Some German airports also have testing available for passengers.
IATA calls for testing to save the travel industry worldwide
Numerous travel leaders have been calling on the UK government to use COVID testing as an alternative to quarantine. A test before departure is not 100% foolproof but to me it gives a definite sense of safety that every person on the aircraft and passenger in the airport has tested negative versus zero testing for most flights in Europe. IATA has now got onboard with this globally which I welcome. Having a standardised system that is affordable and easily accessible can only make travel safer and help the travel industry.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for the development and deployment of rapid, accurate, affordable, easy-to-operate, scalable and systematic COVID-19 testing for all passengers before departure as an alternative to quarantine measures in order to re-establish global air connectivity. IATA will work through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and with health authorities to implement this solution quickly.
International travel is 92% down on 2019 levels. Over half a year has passed since global connectivity was destroyed as countries closed their borders to fight COVID-19. Some governments have cautiously re-opened borders since then, but there has been limited uptake as quarantine measures make travel impractical or the frequent changes in border requirements make planning impossible.
“The key to restoring the freedom of mobility across borders is systematic COVID-19 testing of all travelers before departure. This will give governments the confidence to open their borders without complicated risk models that see constant changes in the rules imposed on travel. Testing all passengers will give people back their freedom to travel with confidence. And that will put millions of people back to work,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
The economic cost of the breakdown in global connectivity makes investing in a border-opening testing solution a priority for governments. The global economic pain of the crisis will be prolonged if the aviation industry—on which at least 65.5 million jobs depend—collapses before the pandemic ends. And the amount of government support needed to avert such a collapse is rising. Already lost revenues are expected to exceed $400 billion and the industry was set to post a record net loss of over $80 billion in 2020 under a more optimistic rebound scenario than has actually unfolded.
“Safety is aviation’s top priority. We are the safest form of transport because we work together as an industry with governments to implement global standards. With the economic cost associated with border closures rising daily and a second-wave of infections taking hold, the aviation industry must call on this expertise to unite with governments and medical testing providers to find a rapid, accurate, affordable, easy-to-operate, and scalable testing solution that will enable the world to safely re-connect and recover,” said de Juniac.
Public Opinion
IATA’s public opinion research revealed strong support for COVID-19 testing in the travel process. Some 65% of travelers surveyed agreed that quarantine should not be required if a person tests negative for COVID-19.
Passengers’ support for testing is evident in the following survey results:
- 84% agreed that testing should be required of all travelers
- 88% agreed that they are willing to undergo testing as part of the travel process
In addition to opening borders, public opinion research also indicated that testing will help to rebuild passenger confidence in aviation. Survey respondents identified the implementation of COVID-19 screening measures for all passengers as effective in making them feel safe, second only to mask-wearing. And, the availability of rapid COVID-19 testing is among the top three signals that travelers will look to for reassurance that travel is safe (along with the availability of a vaccine or a treatment for COVID-19).
IATA does not see COVID-19 testing becoming a permanent fixture in the air travel experience, but it will likely be needed into the medium-term for air travel to re-establish itself. “Many see the development of a vaccine as the panacea for the pandemic. It will certainly be an important step, but even after an effective vaccine is globally recognized, ramping up production and distribution is likely to take many months. Testing will be a much-needed interim solution,” said de Juniac.
Lufthansa plans to offer rapid testing to Premium passengers
Lufthansa plans to start making rapid COVID-19 antigen tests available to passengers in October. They are also looking at opening test centres at airports in the United States and Canada, according to Reuters.
Part of the issue at the moment is that the aviation industry mainly uses Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests which take several hours to process in a lab. IATA are now of course pushing for antigen tests that can be processed on site and cangive results within about 15 minutes.
Abbott Laboratories recently won the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for BinaxNOW, a $5 disposable device the size of a credit card. Other antigen tests can use self servuce machines to process them.
“You know that companies like Abbott or Roche are bringing these tests to the market and we are definitely looking into this,” said Bjoern Becker, senior director, product management, ground & digital services for the Lufthansa Group.
“You will see us applying them for new products within the next few weeks in October, that’s definitely the next thing to come.”
2 comments
I’ve not done this and I’m not saying I will but surely if the Government slow down or stop the private travel sector testing, people will pretend they have symptoms to get one of the Government tests? No? Thus creating a bigger issue all round.
Yes I am sure that people will try to find ways round it. I don’t blame them as many could have booked before COVID and stand to lose thousands of £££
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