Advertisement

Airport testing to be launched within weeks, Heathrow signals

testing - getty
testing - getty

Airport testing at London Heathrow could be in place within two weeks, the Government has suggested, with flights to New York “up and running” by the end of November.

John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow, told Travel Weekly: “We’ve heard from the Prime Minister that he hopes to go to a trial in the second half of October. It would take a couple of weeks to put into practice.”

The test, to be performed upon arrival into the UK, would cost £150, with another to follow five or seven days later; possibly thus halving the current 14-day quarantine requirement.

Holland-Kaye also said testing on routes between London and New York by Thanksgiving (November 26) “seems entirely feasible”, adding the demand would be “enormous”.

“If we get good results, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to extend it,” he told the publication. “It’s possible that in the first or second quarter of next year, we see ‘rapid point of care’ tests become more normal.”

A senior airline source stressed that the programme would have to be integrated with the Government’s test-and-trace system, rather than involve private testing, stating: “There are things developing behind the scenes. If we have a decision in October, there is no reason a trial couldn’t be in place for November.”

Holland-Kaye toldThe Telegraph: “Testing is the lifeline that the UK’s aviation sector needs to get back on its feet. We’ve put some of the most cutting-edge rapid testing technologies into action at Heathrow to see which offers the best solution.

“If we can find a test that is accurate, gets a result within a matter of minutes, is cost-effective and gets the Government green light, we could have the potential to introduce wide-scale testing at the airport.

“Without this, our first-class aviation sector risks becoming second class, giving Britain’s competitive advantage to others.”

Last month, Telegraph Travel launched Test4Travel – a campaign urging the Government to roll out affordable Covid-19 tests on arrivals at all UK airports and ports, by Christmas.

Exclusive survey data compiled for Telegraph Travel by travel consultancy The PC Agency and independent market research company AudienceNet, polling 2,139 respondents, shows that 62 per cent of the population supports a test on arrivals in the UK over a 14-day quarantine, and more than half would be willing to cover the costs of a test.

Speaking about the campaign, Telegraph Travel’s Greg Dickinson says: “With support from airport chiefs, health professionals, MPs and with this new positive polling, the Telegraph urges the Government to test all arrivals on entry to the UK in order to drop the current, ineffective quarantine.

“We believe this testing regime will save the travel industry, help to revive the UK’s tourism economy and restore the nation’s faith in our holidays, in a way that will better contain the spread of Covid-19.”