First transatlantic flight with mandatory Covid tests lands at London Heathrow

A transatlantic flight on which all on board have tested negative for coronavirus has touched down in London. United flight 14 from Newark airport in New York to Heathrow is the first in a series of a dozen transatlantic flights this month and next for which the crew and all passengers aged two and above are obliged to take a free Covid test before boarding the plane. Each passenger takes a nucleic acid amplification test, known as NAAT, at Newark airport. The result of these rapid molecular tests is known within 20 minutes. They are not as reliable as the PCR tests used by the NHS. Anyone who tests positive must contact health authorities and postpone their trip. Travellers booked on the flight who do not wish to take the test can switch to another departure free of charge. Although all passengers have tested negative for coronavirus, anyone intending to stay in the UK will still be obliged to self-isolate for 14 days in accordance with normal quarantine regulations. The pre-flight health check makes no difference. But United hopes the trial will provide data to support pre-flight testing as a means to reduce or eliminate quarantine. The airline already employs pre-flight testing between San Francisco and Hawaii. The island state requires visitors either to quarantine for two weeks or to produce a negative test result. <br/>