United Airlines will offer COVID-19 rapid testing for passengers going to Hawaii from San Francisco starting October 15, which will also be adapted to other flights soon.
Major US carrier United Airlines said it will test passengers for COVID-19, the first airline in the US to do so. Starting October 15, the carrier will offer rapid testing to passengers coming from San Francisco and going to Hawaii.
Rapid Testing for Passengers
United Airlines decided to introduce the testing program so that travelers could “manage their quarantine requirements and entry conditions of popular destinations around the world.”
The rapid test from Abbott will only take 15 minutes to get a result. So customers can have the test results the same day of their departure from San Francisco. Meanwhile, United Airlines will also offer a mail-in test option administered by clinical testing Color. Customers will have to initiate the testing at least ten days before the trip. Moreover, they will have to send their sample within 72 hours of their trip.
The Carrier’s Efforts to Help Passengers
Furthermore, United Airlines said it partnered with Hawaii officials. This move actually comes as Hawaii announced a pre-travel testing program on October 15. With the carrier’s program, passengers who would test negative could skip the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine.
United is the first U.S. airline to make mail-in and same-day COVID-19 tests available for travelers flying from San Francisco to Hawaii. With a negative test result, you can skip Hawaii's 14-day quarantine and get straight to vacationing safely. 😎 🌴🌺 https://t.co/Y6Yr1VDrTP pic.twitter.com/EOScnSln5k
— United Airlines (@united) September 24, 2020
Also, the company plans to bring the rapid testing of passengers to other destinations soon. According to chief customer officer Toby Enqvist, the testing program will complement the airline’s state-of-the-art cleaning and safety measures policy.
Much Needed Testing
Earlier, a group of about 290 airlines from around the world said a need for testing among airports. The International Air Transport Association called on the government to fund and set up testing of passengers and crew members in international flights, CNN Travel reports.
Meanwhile, Tori Emerson Barnes, a spokesperson for the US Travel Association, acknowledged the effort of American carriers in campaigning for COVID-19 testing. “We have long maintained that testing is the key to both safer travel and reopening the economy,” she added.
For Barnes, boosting efficient and rapid testing could let companies restore lost jobs. It will also allow for the travel economy to reopen. “Importantly, a robust testing program would allow America to welcome back international visitors, a segment of travel that has effectively disappeared since the start of the pandemic.”