A quick swab and a boarding pass: Israel's El Al launches check-in COVID-19 test
El Al airlines launched a pilot programme at its Tel Aviv airport check-in counters on Monday to test unvaccinated passengers for COVID-19 before allowing them to board a non-stop flight to New York. Just before stepping up to the counters, 112 of the 280 passengers on flight 003 were required by El Al to undergo a nose swab - a rapid antigen test, with results within 15 to 20 minutes, that detects protein fragments specific to the coronavirus. All 112 passed the test. Airlines have for months been lobbying governments for such measures to prevent people from having to go into quarantine on arrival. With some 40% of Israelis over the age of 16 already fully vaccinated after their second dose of Pfizer /BioNTech’s vaccine, most of those tested at the airport were children, who under current health guidelines are not given the shots. The aim of the test was to ensure no one on the plane carried the coronavirus or could infect others. But masks were still mandatory for the duration of the 12-hour flight. “What we are trying to do in this concept is basically taking three layers of protection for the passengers,” El Al CE Avigal Soreq said.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-03-09/unaligned/a-quick-swab-and-a-boarding-pass-israels-el-al-launches-check-in-covid-19-test
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A quick swab and a boarding pass: Israel's El Al launches check-in COVID-19 test
El Al airlines launched a pilot programme at its Tel Aviv airport check-in counters on Monday to test unvaccinated passengers for COVID-19 before allowing them to board a non-stop flight to New York. Just before stepping up to the counters, 112 of the 280 passengers on flight 003 were required by El Al to undergo a nose swab - a rapid antigen test, with results within 15 to 20 minutes, that detects protein fragments specific to the coronavirus. All 112 passed the test. Airlines have for months been lobbying governments for such measures to prevent people from having to go into quarantine on arrival. With some 40% of Israelis over the age of 16 already fully vaccinated after their second dose of Pfizer /BioNTech’s vaccine, most of those tested at the airport were children, who under current health guidelines are not given the shots. The aim of the test was to ensure no one on the plane carried the coronavirus or could infect others. But masks were still mandatory for the duration of the 12-hour flight. “What we are trying to do in this concept is basically taking three layers of protection for the passengers,” El Al CE Avigal Soreq said.<br/>
