European airlines are hopeful to arrange pre COVID-19 tests which can give results as fast as possible before taking off in the much air shared space during the journey. The confidence of the passengers will be restored if the test is conducted before the arrival.
Germany’s Lufthansa is in talks with Swiss drugmaker Roche over deploying so-called antigen tests. Italian operator Alitalia meanwhile would add two flights from Milan to Rome, to the two it is already offering from Rome to Milan, exclusively for passengers with negative tests.
There are drawbacks of antigen tests, carriers hope they could tip the balance in convincing people to fly. Unlike laboratory-based molecular tests that have been the staple of health authorities in the pandemic, antigen tests do not require machines to process.
These devices with the help of medical staffs will be sanctioned on the airports with pricing on the tickets. If it conducted successfully then more domestic flights will follow the routine check-up. Airlines are pressing governments to embrace alternatives of blanket travel restrictions amind of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Europe.
An increasing number are hitting the market, from companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson & Co and Quidel Corp and Roche, which is rebranding antigen tests from South Korea’s privately held SD Biosensor.
There are still talks about the availability and regulations of the pre-flight antigen test and has a lot to be spoken about the test. Regulators still worry about test accuracy, which typically detects the virus 80% to 90% of the time, below the 95% rate of lab tests.
Still, some officials don’t want the perfect to be the enemy of the pretty good as they pursue some semblance of economic normality. SD Biosensor said its tests had been deployed at Italian airports for incoming tourists, to avoid a renewed COVID-19 wave imported from infection hotspots.
