Heathrow boss: PM told me airport testing will be in place ‘in October’
Boris Johnson has told the chief executive of Heathrow Airport that the UK will begin airport testing for coronavirus in two weeks time.
Speaking to Travel Weekly, John Holland-Kaye confirmed that the Prime Minister said that ministers were planning to begin trials in the second half of this month.
“It would take a couple of weeks to put into practice, but if we get good results, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to extend it”, he said.
If such trials are implemented, it would be a considerable victory for the aviation sector, which has been pushing for the policy for months.
While countries such as Germany have already initiated such a regime, the UK government has proved resistant, saying that such tests are not necessarily a “silver bullet” for the quarantine issue.
Speaking at this week’s Conservative Party Conference, transport secretary Grant Shapps reinforced that point but said that testing was “the next stage” in the government’s attempts to get airlines flying again.
But, he said, “we have to be smarter. We still have to have a period of quarantine but will look to release people earlier from quarantine”.
He added that he would be providing further details soon.
However, in a blow to the industry, the Mail reported that ministers were due to launch a new review into the issue.
The new taskforce, which Shapps and health secretary Matt Hancock are expected to chair, will study the ways that other countries use testing to reduce quarantine times.
However, it is likely to delay the roll out of a testing system.
Industry leaders have suggested a system in which passengers test for coronavirus up to 72 hours before flying, and then again after quarantining for several days on arrival.
Having such a system will allow passengers to circumvent current rules which require them to quarantine for 14 days on return from most destinations around the world.
As a result of the current testing-free system, Londoner can can currently only travel to seven European countries quarantine-free on each leg of their journey.
One of the routes that has been mooted to trial the regime is the London-New York link, which would allow the lucrative transatlantic market to reopen.
London Southend chief executive Glyn Jones said that if the government did go down the testing route the approach would have to be uniform across airports.
“We need a clear and consistent approach to testing across all airports, with several testing products available it is vital that an accredited solution is utilised offering the three ‘Rs’ – Rapid, Reliable and Reasonably priced”, he said.
“We welcome a review on current quarantine restrictions but are keen to ensure that a safe alternative is supported across all airports.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Work is ongoing with clinicians, the devolved administrations and the travel industry to consider if and how testing could be used to reduce the self-isolation period.’