British Airways to test passengers for coronavirus in trial.
British Airways has announced it will test US passengers for Covid-19 upon arrival in the UK in a bid to convince the government to scrap the 14-day self-isolate rule.
Currently, due to the coronavirus pandemic, passengers from most countries are required to quarantine for 14-days after arriving in the UK.
Airlines claim this policy has helped further collapse the number in passengers, which has cost the industry $84.3bn in lost sales so far.
British Airways is also trying to convince the US government to open its borders to British citizens, who have been barred since March.
In addition to the tests upon arrival at Heathrow, BA plans on testing customers 72 hours before their trip, as well as three days after travelling.
The trial, which is in partnership with American Airlines, will involve hundreds of passengers on selected routes from the US to London.
IAG chief executive Sean Doyle has said there have been “very minimal reports” of transmission on commercial flights and insists that air travel is “safe”.
The UK government has set up a taskforce to look at how testing can remove the need for quarantine for passengers flying to the UK.
It is expected that the 14-day self-isolate rule may be reduced to 7-days starting in December.
[adblockingdetector id="638efa67113bf"]