American expands pre-flight testing programme

American Airlines has expanded its pre-flight coronavirus testing programme, hoping to inspire customers’ confidence to return to air travel. The carrier says Monday that it is giving guests to vacation destinations such as Belize, Grenada, St. Lucia and Hawaii the opportunity to test ahead of time. It will partner with the at-home testing provider LetsGetChecked to offer travellers the tests from 16 November. “Our initial preflight testing has performed remarkably well, including terrific customer feedback about the ease and availability of testing options,” Robert Isom, the carrier’s president says. The next phase will be targeted at “reopening international travel and driving industry recovery while delivering a safe and positive travel experience.” American introduced the testing on selected flights from its Dallas/Fort Worth hub to Hawaii, which relaxed isolation restrictions earlier this month. Now the programme will be extended to other departure airports for flights headed to the islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. <br/>