Airlines want quick US$10 Covid-19 test to replace quarantine in bid to kick-start international travel
- International Air Transport Association throws weight behind 15-minute pre-departure tests
- Industry boss hopes mass testing ‘could save winter season’ and also combat suspicions of faked results and low-quality screenings in some countries
Two Hong Kong infectious diseases experts also said the test could generate reliable results, and believed local authorities “could consider’ accepting its results for the mandatory predeparture testing of travellers from high-risk places, though they stopped short of recommending quarantine exemption.
The International Air Transport Association has thrown its weight behind a 15-minute test it hoped would be ready “in the coming weeks”, citing health care firms Roche, and Abbott, who have developed rival kits.
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IATA chief says pre-departure Covid-19 testing could ease quarantine rules for air travel
Calling for systematic testing at departure airports, Alexandre de Juniac, the association’s director general, said the mass testing could “save the winter season” and warned the recovery in air travel had stalled.
“We fully understand the need for protection for the population against reimporting the virus, that is why we are proposing Covid-19 systematic testing at the departure airport as an alternative to quarantine,” de Juniac said.
The association said pre-departure testing would capture virtually all virus cases, tackling imports, poor quality test control, and fraudulent results.