Airlines Plead for Mandatory Virus Tests

[reader]

From Bloomberg News

Universal coronavirus tests for departing passengers offer the only realistic hope of reviving demand for flights in the absence of a vaccine, the International Air Transport Association said.

The 100% adoption of rapid antigen tests, which should be available next month, would remove any need for quarantines that are currently “killing” the market, IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac said on a media call Tuesday.

While the call for testing isn’t new, the outlook has turned increasingly grim for airlines taking stock of a disappointing summer with rising infection rates and restrictions dashing hopes for a recovery. Just this week in Europe, Deutsche Lufthansa AG has said it will slash more jobs and planes from its fleet, the chief executive officer of Air France-KLM warned of further cost cuts, and tour operator TUI AG lowered its outlook for capacity through year-end.

To date, the industry’s many calls for a unified approach to air travel have been hampered by individual countries loath to surrender health policy responsibilities to outsiders. Even proposals for so-called travel bubbles between pair of countries have run up against red tape and authority split among various agencies.

IATA will seek to convince governments of the case for rapid testing through the United Nations-mandated International Civil Aviation Organization, De Juniac said, adding that all of its members back the proposal. The airline industry’s main trade group has repeatedly blamed travel restrictions for holding back demand.

Tests would cost as little as $10, could be performed by staff without professional medical training, and would deliver a result in 15 minutes with 97% sensitivity, IATA said.

As well as allowing nations to relax curbs on flying, a universal testing regime would provide people with reassurance that fellow passengers were Covid-free. Governments should fund the program, De Juniac said.

[vinapu]

4 hours ago, reader said:

 

Tests would cost as little as $10, could be performed by staff without professional medical training, and would deliver a result in 15 minutes with 97% sensitivity, IATA said.

....

Governments should fund the program, De Juniac said.

I'd be happy to pay that 10 $

[spoon]

As of now, thai gov still requires tests to be negative and quarantine. Hope thatll change in the future

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

Airports deploy rapid virus tests, sniffer dogs to unlock travel

LONDON: A handful of European airports are implementing trials of quick-fire coronavirus tests, working with airlines to push technologies still being developed as a way to revive stunted international air travel.

The tests, which can be carried out in 30 minutes, are seen as the best hope for the aviation industry to overcome new travel curbs that have brought a modest traffic rebound over summer to a shuddering halt. Other initiatives include a Finnish experiment with dogs that can sniff out the virus.

Rome's Fiumicino hub became the first worldwide to introduce rapid screening, while London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, has trialled three rival technologies. The International Air Transport Association is backing mandatory checks on departure to unlock flights before the arrival of a Covid vaccine, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG wants to use tests to reopen the trans-Atlantic market.

 

The aviation industry is turning to a do-it-yourself approach after earlier efforts to rally global authorities around a united plan fell flat. A recent surge in virus cases triggered a haphazard set of fresh restrictions, upending a recovery in air traffic. Now companies are working to get pre-flight testing under way in a handful of markets in the expectation that other locations will follow.

"We did not come to this decision lightly," IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac said of its support for universal checks. "Systematic testing will present logistical challenges and impact how people travel. But if you look at the reopening of borders, results have been dismally disappointing. Quarantine measures are killing the industry's recovery."

The latest global traffic figures show long-haul markets are still largely grounded and that a recovery in domestic and regional operations has leveled off. Restrictions have been especially fluid in Europe, making it impossible for travellers to know whether they'll need to self-isolate when they return home.

Heathrow, which sought to introduce PCR tests costing £150 (about 6,000 baht), had also proposed a second test five days later to allow for the virus’s incubation period, during which time people would need to self-isolate. Britain declined to ratify the plan, saying it was unlikely to entice travellers put off by an existing 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from at-risk countries.

The airport is now pressing the case for rapid testing before departure, though Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye cautioned Wednesday that it will be “more challenging” for the model to gain acceptance, since destination countries would need to take the accuracy of the checks on faith.

Anyone found to be infected is denied boarding and will have to return home to self-isolate, having previously completed a form undertaking to do so in the event of a positive outcome.

AdR said it is in talks with Lufthansa, Russia’s Aeroflot and Dubai-based Emirates about introducing the tests for their flights from Fiumicino. It is also keen to offer the procedure for services to New York, restoring a vital trans-Atlantic link that is currently closed to all but repatriating passengers.

Lufthansa said separately Tuesday that it is planning to buy test kits from manufacturers including Roche Holding AG, after the Swiss company said the day before that its rapid antigen scan was available in Europe and that it would be filing for emergency authorization in the US. The German carrier said it is working with partners to use the tests to open up American routes.

One, devised by GeneMe of Poland, can detect the Covid-19 genome in nose or throat swabs in about 30 minutes, while the other, from US-based Mologic, uses a saliva sample to identify viral antibodies in about 10 minutes.

The hub also tested the less conventional Virolens system from British startup iAbra, which deploys a digital camera and microscope to produce a highly magnified hologram-style image of a sample in just 20 seconds. That can then be scanned for the distinctly shaped virus using artificial intelligence software.

[GWMinUS]

So let me ask about my confusion...

If a person has in fact been infected with COVID-19, but has "recovered". Would they still test Positive? They should have the antibodies that are thought to"protect" them from getting the Virus again. But they would still be denied boarding or required to Quarantine upon arrival?

And what about people who have been Vaccinated. Will they test Positive? Where does that leave them.

Not easy to know going forward.

[spoon]

There are ways to sort them out i supposed, especially if they have virus before, they have tested positive before and have receive treatement. Just show their previous virus/treatment document. Similarly for vaccine too. Eitherway, the test is not 100% accurate, but it is a way to reduce the chances, perhaps enough to make everyone comfortable to travel. 

[TotallyOz]

On 9/23/2020 at 8:43 AM, spoon said:

As of now, thai gov still requires tests to be negative and quarantine. Hope thatll change in the future

I don't. There have been those that test positive after getting into the hotels. I am quite comfortable with this requirement.