Coronavirus, ‘Covid corridors’ at the airport for those arriving from the US: only swabs and no quarantine
For those that land in Italy, you must be tested 48 hours before arrival either one molecular or antigen test before boarding and undergo another test on arrival.
Fiumicino airport will be the first airport in Europe to activate the ‘Covid Tested’, a safe health corridor between Rome and the American airports in New York JFK, Newark and Atlanta in the United States, replacing the passengers on board the imposition of the fiduciary quarantine upon arrival in Italy with at least one molecular or antigen test carried out no more than 48 hours before boarding and a further repeated test upon disembarkation at Fiumicino, for greater safety: all thanks to the collaboration of Aeroporti di Roma with Alitalia and Delta Air Lines.
Announced by Aeroporti di Roma: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, Italy has been at the forefront of measures and protocols for the containment of the virus, so much that it is considered one of the most virtuous countries on an international level. We believe that, especially with the continuation of the epidemic crisis, it is necessary to evaluate and implement new and further control systems at the start, which can inhibit the movement of infected people.
The new travel protocols, foreseen on an experimental basis on flights from the United States to Fiumicino, as regulated in the order of the Ministries of Health, Transport and Foreign Affairs in the pipeline, will be progressively offered to passengers starting as early as this month of December. The experimental phase will aim to evaluate the effectiveness and functionality of the new travel mode, with the aim of making it more widely available and ready for the Summer of 2021. The ordinance will also authorize Covid Tested corridors between Munich, Bavaria, Frankfurt and Fiumicino to ensure that this new travel method can also be tested within the European Union.
The experimentation, which sees Italy as the first European country to activate this innovative, will take advantage of the experience already successfully in Fiumicino on the Covid-tested Rome-Milan flights operating since last September 16.
Since mid-August, a rapid testing center has been active in the ‘Arrivals’ area of Fiumicino Terminal 3, with results in less than 30 minutes, managed by medical personnel from the Lazio Region and the USMAF-Ministry of Health; since September, a ‘drive-in’ has also been activated at the Lunga Sosta di Fiumicino car park, also available to citizens as well as to passengers, managed by the Region of lazio with the Italian Red Cross and operational 24 hours a day.
Furthermore, in Fiumicino there are also over 100 latest generation thermal scanners, which measure temperatures of passengers in less than 2 seconds, the signs for respecting interpersonal distancing.
Guaranteeing passenger safety is one of the essential prerequisites for relaunching air traffic, which is still severely impacted by the effects of the pandemic “, said the CEO of ADR, Marco Troncone.”
Original article in Italian: RomaToday
