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Rome’s Fiumicino Airport plans to welcome passengers from the United States without requiring them to quarantine, provided they test negative for the new coronavirus multiple times. Fiumicino says it will be the first airport in Europe to offer “COVID-tested flights”, creating what it calls “safe air corridors” between Italy and the United States.
It will test the idea in December starting with flights from New York’s JFK Airport, New Jersey’s Newark Airport and Georgia’s Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. If these flights are successful, similar flights could be made “widely available” by summer 2021, according to Fiumicino.
Fiumicino says it will require passengers to take a molecular or antigen test within 48 hours before takeoff. They will also have to do a quick test once they arrive at the airport in Italy. The airport has been following similar procedures on “COVID-tested flights” between Rome and Milan since September.
Delta Air Lines, which together with Alitalia will operate the flights, set out slightly different guidelines in a press release. His clients will have to do a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test – considered the “gold standard” – up to 72 hours before departure. They will have to test negative again on the rapid tests provided at airports on both ends of their journey.
It is risky to rely solely on testing as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 tests, especially rapid tests, don’t always detect the virus when someone has just been infected and still doesn’t have much of the virus in their body. Tests can give people a false sense of security and are not a substitute for taking precautions such as physical distancing and wearing a mask. Both Italy and the United States are battling a wave of COVID-19 infections. Public health officials warn that things could get worse if people think about traveling for the holiday season.
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