Coronavirus News

American Airlines offers new free trial COVID-19 test to foster flying

It's a 3-part test and if you pass, then away you go.

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

Fort Worth-based American Airlines and British Airways have launched an optional coronavirus trial test on select flights between the United States and London Heathrow (LHR).

According to a release, the objective of this and other trials is to validate that a pre-departure test provides a high level of certainty of a passenger being COVID-19 negative, with the ultimate goal of relaxing US and UK border restrictions, including the 14-day quarantine and entry into the U.S.

Per current UK policies, international travelers arriving in the UK from the U.S. must self-isolate for 14 days even if they have tested negative for COVID-19.

The tests will be free and will initially be offered to eligible customers booked on the following flights ("AA" = American Airlines, "BA" = British Airways):

AA50 departing Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to LHR
BA114 departing New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to LHR
BA268 from Los Angeles (LAX) to LHR

The test will be expanded to AA106 from JFK to LHR, at a date TBA.

Eligible customers will be contacted by the airlines with instructions on how to volunteer. Each participant will take three tests; if they test positive, they should reschedule or cancel their flight.

The trial for each individual passenger will comprise:

Initial at-home test taken 72 hours before departure from the U.S.
Second test, upon arrival at London Heathrow Airport
Third test, taken three days after arrival in the UK

The first test is an at-home RT-PCR test provided by LetsGetChecked. Customers self-collect a nasal sample, under the supervision of medical professionals via a virtual visit.

The second test takes place after landing at LHR. The LAMP test, provided by Collinson, involves the collection of a nasal sample by a medical professional. After that test is completed, cusomers get a kit for the third test.

The third test is like the first: an at-home test in which customers self-collect a saliva sample, three days after arrival in to the United Kingdom.

The third test is intended to confirm the results of the first two tests, and to demonstrate that one or two tests are sufficient.

A task force comprising Oneworld member airline representatives and independent medical experts are overseeing implementation of the trial. They'll share results with the U.S. and UK Governments and other stakeholders.

Prior to the pandemic, American Airlines and British Airways flew to more than 30 destinations in the U.S. from London. Today, they're flying a fraction of that figure: Previously, they were doing 111 flights a week from London to New York; that number is now 14 flights per week combined between the two cities.

American has already introduced a pre-flight COVID-19 testing program for customers travelling from the U.S. to international destinations across the Caribbean and Latin America. The UK is a priority, says American Airlines chairman & CEO Doug Parker in a statement.

"The UK is a critically important business and leisure destination that our customers want to visit," Parker says. "We believe the results provided by this trial will be vital for reopening transatlantic travel safely."

And British Airways CEO Sean Doyle says that this model follows the example set by other countries such as Germany.

"We know people want to travel but our skies remain all but closed and the UK is being left behind," Doyle says. "Major economies like Germany are adopting testing to replace quarantine."

"We need the UK Government to introduce a system that allows travelers to take reliable, affordable tests before departure, so they are confident that fellow passengers are COVID-free," Doyle says. "For people arriving from countries with high infection rates, a further test on arrival should then release them from quarantine."

Data from industry body IATA suggests the risk of contracting COVID-19 on aircraft is low: 44 cases of COVID-19 recorded as linked to flights since the start of 2020.

A study issued on October 27 by Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that face coverings are the most essential measure to reduce COVID-19 transmission while flying.

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Airport News

Both Dallas airports would be affected by air traffic shutdown

www.dallascitynews.net

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The Federal Aviation Administration plans to reduce air traffic by 10 percent across 40 “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.

The affected airports covering more than two dozen states include the busiest ones across the U.S. — including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami, and San Francisco. In some of the biggest cities — such as New York, Houston, and Chicago — multiple airports will be affected.

CBS News has a list of all the airports affected and that list includes both DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field. Other airports in Texas that would be affected include both airports in Houston — Houston Lobby and George Bush Houston Intercontinental.

The FAA is imposing the flight reductions to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who are working without pay during the government shutdown and have been increasingly calling off work.

Controllers already have missed one full paycheck and are scheduled to again receive nothing next week as as the shutdown drags on.

The FAA has been delaying flights at times when airports or its other facilities are short on controllers.

Passengers should start to be notified about cancellations Thursday. Airlines said they would try to minimize the impact on customers, some of whom will see weekend travel plans disrupted with little notice.

United Airlines said it would focus the cuts on smaller regional routes that use smaller planes like 737s. United, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines said they would offer refunds to passengers who opt not to fly -- even if they purchased tickets that aren’t normally refundable. Frontier Airlines recommended that travelers buy backup tickets with another airline to avoid being stranded.

Experts predict hundreds if not thousands of flights could be canceled. The cuts could represent as many as 1,800 flights and upwards of 268,000 seats combined, according to an estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began October 1. Most work mandatory overtime six days a week, leaving little time for side jobs to help cover bills and other expenses unless they call out.

Major airlines, aviation unions, and the broader travel industry have been urging Congress to end the shutdown, which on Wednesday became the longest on record.

Staffing can run short both in regional control centers that manage multiple airports and in individual airport towers, but they don’t always lead to flight disruptions. Throughout October, flight delays caused by staffing problems had been largely isolated and temporary.

But the past weekend brought some of the worst staffing issues since the start of the shutdown.

From Friday to Sunday evening, at least 39 air traffic control facilities reported potential staffing limits, according to an Associated Press analysis of operations plans shared through the Air Traffic Control System Command Center system. The figure, which is likely an undercount, is well above the average for weekends before the shutdown.

During weekends from January 1 to September 30, the average number of airport towers, regional control centers and facilities monitoring traffic at higher altitudes that announced potential staffing issues was 8.3, according to the AP analysis. But during the five weekend periods since the shutdown began, the average more than tripled to 26.2 facilities.

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