Collinson – owner of airport lounge provider Priority Pass – has partnered with ground and cargo handling firm Swissport to propose a new ‘Test on Arrival’ system at UK airports.
The private service would see passengers booking a Covid-19 test before beginning their journey to the UK, which would then be carried out on arrival by Collinson nurses in a Swissport facility with the airport terminal, with the result known within around five hours.
The companies have written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to ask for the government’s support for the programme, which could see it added to an existing list of exemptions for quarantine.
Heathrow is set to be the first airport to pilot the service, but it would require the government to agree to quarantine exemption for trial participants.
Under the proposals travellers taking the RT-PCR swab test would continue to their quarantine address provided at the time of booking to await the result, which, if negative, would allow them to come out of self-isolation.
