One-hour coronavirus tests at Heathrow to help keep passengers on the move
A pre-departure rapid Covid-19 testing facility has been launched at a London airport in a bid to help keep passengers on the move.
The facilities in Terminals 2 and 5 at Heathrow will initially offer tests to passengers travelling to Hong Kong and Italy before they fly.
The private test costs £80 and aims to provide results in around one hour. Those interested in using the facility required to book a test online before making their way to the airport.
To start, the facilities will offer LAMP testing and will expand to offer antigen testing in the coming weeks.
Unlike PCR tests, which are used by the NHS, LAMP and antigen tests can be processed without being sent to a laboratory.
The testing facilities will initially be open for four weeks.
The announcement follows the launch of Collinson and Swissport's test-on-arrival facility at the same airport in August, which is still sitting empty as it has yet to gain Government approval.
Heathrow's chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: "These facilities will make it easier for passengers going to those countries to get a test and have the potential to provide a service for arriving passengers.
"Ultimately, we need a common international standard for pre-departure testing, and we welcome the UK Government's recent announcement that it wants to take a global lead in establishing this.
"We will work with them to make this happen as soon as possible, so that we protect livelihoods as well as lives."
Earlier this month, the Government unveiled a task force to develop a coronavirus testing system as a potential way of easing quarantine restrictions for arriving passengers.
Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airlines all fly routes that now require pre-departure tests.
