Quarantine-free travel from the U.S. to Europe shows the first, small signs of becoming reality

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­New preflight testing applications are permitting a small quantity of Americans to have a European Christmas vacation this 12 months in any case.

On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines launched a Covid-19 testing program for patrons flying from Atlanta to Amsterdam, whereas a second program is scheduled to begin on Saturday for Delta passengers flying to Rome.

Unlike different preflight testing applications being carried out by American and United Airlines, Delta’s applications permit passengers to keep away from quarantine necessities in Europe.

Delta’s new “Covid-tested flights” originate from Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and can fly 4 instances weekly to Amsterdam and 3 times weekly to Rome.

Passengers can keep away from quarantines in the event that they take a look at detrimental for Covid-19 at various intervals earlier than and after the flight, together with:

1. Five days earlier than arriving in Amsterdam or up to 72 hours earlier than departing to Rome (by way of PCR, or polymerase chain response take a look at)
2. Before boarding the flight at Atlanta’s airport (speedy take a look at)
3. Upon touchdown in Amsterdam (PCR take a look at) and Rome (speedy take a look at)
4. At the airport earlier than returning to the U.S. (speedy take a look at, Rome’s program solely)

Notably, passengers should cross two PCR checks to keep away from quarantining in Amsterdam. PCR checks, additionally referred to as molecular checks, are extra correct than speedy antigen checks however outcomes can take days to course of since they should be despatched to a lab.   

In a press launch revealed on Dec. 15, Delta stated “once a negative result is received, customers will not need to quarantine.” In response to a query about how lengthy passengers should wait for his or her outcomes, a Delta consultant advised CNBC’s Global Traveler, “We would say most [PCR tests] take a few hours to get results.”

The Delta consultant additionally stated passengers can wait for his or her take a look at ends in their properties and motels.

Delta is speaking to different governments about launching extra quarantine-free flights, together with a New York to Rome connection, Reuters reported this week.

Italy’s nationwide provider, Alitalia, on Dec. eight began three weekly flights on that route which permit passengers to keep away from quarantines in the event that they current a detrimental Covid-19 take a look at carried out inside 48 hours prior to the flight or carry out a speedy take a look at at the airport earlier than boarding.

Alitalia prospects departing from the United States should additionally cross a speedy take a look at upon arrival to keep away from Italy’s quarantine obligation.

Delta’s two preflight applications can be found to “all citizens permitted to travel to the Netherlands or Italy for essential reasons, such as for certain specified work, health and education reasons,” in accordance to Delta’s web site.

Americans have been blocked from getting into the European Union because it closed its exterior borders final March. The U.S. was not on a listing of international locations permitted to enter the EU beginning July 1, a listing which has since dwindled as international locations have struggled to comprise coronavirus outbreaks inside their borders.

However, some vacationers are in a position to enter the EU by exemptions, which embody individuals who present “an essential function or need” corresponding to well being care professionals and researchers, diplomats, army personnel, humanitarian support staff and passengers touring for crucial household causes, amongst others.

Though vaccines are anticipated to assist restore the badly tattered world travel trade subsequent 12 months, airways should not ready.

“The arrival of a vaccine is fantastic news, but it will take time for it to become widely available around the world,” stated Delta Senior Vice President Perry Cantarutti. “It’s for this reason we have worked tirelessly with the authorities and our partners to create a blueprint for travel corridors that will enable air travel to safely resume.” 

Steve Sear, Delta’s govt vice chairman of world gross sales, stated the firm is concentrated on testing to revive travel.

“Carefully designed Covid-19 testing protocols are the best path for resuming international travel safely and without quarantine until vaccinations are widely in place,” he stated.

Delta is working with advisors from Mayo Clinic to implement the preflight testing program to Rome in addition to security requirements on worldwide flights.

“Based on the modeling we have conducted, when testing protocols are combined with multiple layers of protection, including mask requirements, proper social distancing and environmental cleaning, we can predict that the risk of Covid-19 infection — on a flight that is 60% full — should be nearly one in a million,” stated Henry Ting, Mayo Clinic’s chief worth officer.

Throughout the pandemic, the airline trade has tried to enhance security requirements and instill confidence amongst potential passengers, with numerous specialists and entities serving up statistics on the danger of an infection that fluctuate dramatically:

·       1 in 4,300 based mostly on a full two-hour flight in the U.S. with everybody carrying a masks (a examine by Arnold Barnett, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

·       1 in 7,700 if center seats are vacant (Barnett, MIT)

·       1 in 1.7 million (Boeing)

·       1 in 27 million (International Air Transport Association)

IATA’s determine was based mostly on 44 identified or suspected circumstances of inflight Covid-19 transmissions in some 1.2 billion flight passengers this 12 months, a statistic that U.S. infectious illness specialist Dr. David Freedman referred to as “bad math.”

“One-point-two billion passengers during 2020 is not a fair denominator because hardly anybody was tested. How do you know how many people really got infected?” he advised Reuters. “The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

IATA cited an article co-authored by Freedman in the Journal of Travel Medicine to assist its knowledge. However, the Sept. 25 article acknowledges that the “U.S. CDC has stated awareness of 1,600 cases on U.S. flights and 11,000 contacts within 2 rows but has not yet published in-flight transmission estimates” — a scenario which “may be partly related to current economic or political circumstances.”

At the article’s conclusion, Freedman referred to as the lack of giant numbers of confirmed in-flight Covid-19 transmissions “encouraging but … not definitive evidence that fliers are safe.”