Heathrow poised to host UK's first Covid-19 airport testing trial
The proposed pilot scheme could cut short quarantine for travellers coming from "high risk" countries, if they test negative
Passengers arriving at Heathrow will be among the first to be offered medical Covid-19 tests at a UK airport, pending Government approval.
Heathrow is ready to host the UK's first airport Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing trial, using the same type of saliva swab test as the NHS, it was announced today.
British and international arrivals from countries not exempt from UK quarantine could be checked for the virus upon landing and know within hours if they have tested positive.
This could help thousands of people avoid a 14-day quarantine, if the British Government extends exemption to travellers who test negative. It is expected that 95 per cent of those tested will receive a negative result.
Last week the Government published a list of countries to be exempt from the blanket quarantine that has been in place for UK arrivals since June 8. However, it still requires arrivals from many countries to enter self-isolation.
The pilot testing scheme will be run through Collinson Group, which provides medical and security services for governments and NGOs, and ground-handling company Swissport.
“Sensitivity of the test is absolutely key and in designing this process we were at liberty to choose any test,” Dr Simon Worrell, global medical director of Collinson Group, told Telegraph Travel.
“We went for the gold standard, and that’s PCR testing, that’s the most sensitive test, it occurs up and down the land and is carried out by the NHS.”
People arriving in Austria, Iceland, Madeira, Hong Kong and Jersey are already tested using this procedure.
Jersey’s trials reveal the accuracy of the testing process, explained Dr Worrell.
“They have been doing PCR testing on arrival and they followed it up with 1,000 patients at two further points - day four and day seven. They found that if you were negative when you arrived, you were still negative on day four and day seven – ie if you [tested] negative it meant that you did not have Covid.”
Passengers arriving at Heathrow from countries not on the quarantine exemption list would go to the airport testing clinic and undergo a simple swab process (taken from the nose and throat).
They would then go directly to their accommodation or home and await a call from testers.
Within hours they will be notified of the result. If they have tested positive, they would be required to self-isolate for 14 days. If they test negative, they could end their self isolation – subject to this group being included on the quarantine exemption list.
It is expected that travellers would be required to pay for their own tests, although this has not been finalised. As a guide, those arriving in Iceland are now charged 9,000 krona/£51.80 for a PCR test.
The pilot could start in two weeks, following Government approval. It would last for around a fortnight, with approximately 500 people tested a day.
Once complete, the testing programme could be rolled out to other UK airports.
John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow, said: “The Government made a significant step forward last week by removing quarantine for visitors from many countries, but we still need a solution that safely allows passengers to travel to and from higher risk countries. This trial with Swissport and Collinson will provide a much-needed alternative to quarantine for those arriving passengers.”
The testing process will enable travel between the UK and countries deemed “high risk” by the British Government while the world awaits a vaccine.
“The aim is that this complements the air bridges [or travel corridors]. We wouldn’t expect people coming from bilaterally green routes [to be tested],” Richard Cawthra, chief commercial officer at Swissport, told Telegraph Travel.
They’ve already seen demand for this service. “Even in the last couple of days we’ve been receiving emails from customers saying how do we get these tests,” said Mr Cawthra.
Now they await Government approval to waive self-isolation for this group.
“We’d be moving thousands of people per day from the necessity for the government to check up on quarantine,” said Dr Worrell.
