IATA plans $10 Testing

The International Air Transport Association is working to set up a testing system that will replace compulsory quarantine to help revive the airline industry that's been decimated by the coronavirus outbreak.  IATA, which represents about 290 airlines globally, is working with the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organisation to put in place scalable, affordable and fast testing systems, said Conrad Clifford, IATA's regional vice president for Asia Pacific.

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Clifford said IATA would "prefer to see some testing before departure and ideally, if we can find countries with similar levels of Covid risk, much like Singapore and Hong Kong, then that takes away the need for further testing."  Tests should ideally cost less than $10, Clifford said.

The risk of passengers getting infected is "very low" as airlines are carrying out deeper sanitising of planes, and cut back on in-flight catering and magazines, Clifford said. Based on about 44 potential cases of infection on board recorded this year, the chances of passengers getting the virus is about one in 27 million, he said.

The chance of being infected on board is lower than that of being struck by a lightning, Clifford said.

REF: Hospitality News