Gatwick Airport to open coronavirus testing centre
Gatwick Airport will open a coronavirus testing centre at the end of the month offering passengers results the next day.
From 30 November, passengers both arriving at and departing from the Sussex airport will be able to take a test for £60.
The airport said the centre could help to fulfil the requirements of the government’s “test and release” system, which is expected to be introduced in December.
Under the system, which is designed to cut the time for which people have to quarantine, it is expected that passengers arriving in the UK will have to isolate for 5 days and then take a test to see if they have the disease.
Once they have taken the test on arrival, the airport said, results will be texted or emailed the next day.
The screening facility will also be open to those passengers departing for destinations that require travellers to have Covid-negative certificate on arrival.
Such passengers are advised to schedule a test 48-96 hours prior to their departure time, as a precaution. Those who screen negative will be emailed a Fit to Fly certificate that is authorised by a doctor, along with their test result.
But it falls to the passengers themselves to ensure that their travel provider accepts the document.
Members of the public who wish to check whether they have the disease as a precaution will also be able to use it, with tests costing £99.
Gatwick follows fellow London airport Heathrow in opening its own testing centres, although Heathrow’s have not been certified for use by people arriving in the UK.
Gatwick chief exec Stewart Wingate said: “Reducing the spread of COVID-19 is a priority for us alongside giving confidence to so many people who have missed travelling during this difficult year.
“Our new screening facility is also a convenient service to offer people in the region looking for extra reassurance.”
“Our industry has been decimated by the pandemic and, while we welcome the anticipated “test and release” scheme from the Government, we want to see an internationally agreed pre-departure testing regime.”
Booking for the tests will open on 27 November.