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Decommissioned Lufthansa machines at Frankfurt Airport: the long-haul business is idle
Photo: Boris Roessler / DPA
With mandatory corona quick tests immediately before departure, the Lufthansa Group wants to enable more air travel on intercontinental routes again.
First of all, there is a pilot project on some connections to the USA.
This should start in October, according to a spokesman.
Negative test results should exempt passengers from the applicable bilateral entry bans, said the spokesman for the dpa news agency.
This would also require the consent of the governments involved.
As a company spokesman told SPIEGEL, it is about so-called antigen tests by the manufacturers Roche and Abbott.
These look for molecules that are characteristic of the virus in swab samples.
The test strip then shows after a few minutes, similar to a pregnancy test, whether the person is positive or not.
However, the previous antigen tests are still prone to errors.
The aviation industry also sees these tests as an alternative to the stricter quarantine regulations when entering from risk areas, which Germany will also require from October.
The airline association IATA assumes that antigen tests will be available in October at a unit price of less than ten euros and will deliver reliable results within 15 minutes.
Medical staff is not necessary.
IATA President Alexandre de Juniac had spoken out on Tuesday for compulsory testing on all flights - although the costs should be borne by the state, according to him.
Passengers may have to pay themselves
"We are working concretely with partners in the USA on transatlantic pilot routes in order to gain experience for our customers and us in dealing with rapid tests and for traveling under corona prevention measures," said the Lufthansa spokesman for the dpa.
The first batches of the rapid tests should be offered to customers in the next few weeks.
Lufthansa will probably not carry out the tests with its own staff.
The company is already using Centogene for the voluntary tests at Frankfurt Airport.
It is also conceivable that the passengers will have to bear the costs.
Intercontinental traffic is severely restricted as a result of the corona pandemic.
The frequently changing entry rules and bans make reliable planning difficult for passengers.
Lufthansa and other airlines are currently recording very few bookings after a slightly improved holiday business in the summer.
Icon: The mirror
clh / dpa
