Now at the boarding gate: Coronavirus tests

American Airlines said Tuesday that it will offer coronavirus tests to passengers, joining United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways in rolling out preflight testing. Tampa International Airport also said it will offer tests. Testing at airports, it is hoped, will assuage people who are worried about the safety of flying amid the ongoing pandemic. “Our plan for this initial phase of preflight testing reflects the ingenuity and care our team is putting into rebuilding confidence in air travel and we view this as an important step in our work to accelerate an eventual recovery of demand,” said Robert Isom, American’s president. American initially will test people traveling to international destinations, starting with people traveling from Miami International Airport to Jamaica. Testing for travel to Jamaica will be for residents flying to their home country; if a passenger tests negative for the virus, the 14-day quarantine currently in place for returning residents would be waived. The airline is also working to start testing for visitors and residents going to the Bahamas and other countries in the Caribbean. Beginning in mid-October, the airline will offer at-home testing that can be done via video call with a medical professional; in-person testing at a CareNow urgent care location; and rapid on-site testing, administered by CareNow at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for flights to Hawaii. Airlines and airports are desperate to have passengers flying again. T“More rapid, efficient testing allows for a broader reopening of the travel economy, and will enable organizations to more quickly restore lost jobs and rehire workers,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, the US Travel Association’s executive VP of public affairs and policy, earlier this month. “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.”<br/>