Heathrow testing on arrival ready – but government has yet to agree

Ministers set to consider airport tests to cut self-isolation from 14 days

Testing space: the facility for arriving passengers at Heathrow (Collinson)

As Heathrow airport unveils its new testing centre for arriving passengers, the health secretary has said the government could shorten the current two-week quarantine by using tests.

The aviation industry, which has seen a calamitous slump in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic, is desperate to find an alternative to 14 days of self-isolation for arrivals from France, Spain, the Netherlands and many other nations.

Airport-based testing is used in more than 30 countries. But at present, the UK does not allow the quarantine to be reduced if the traveller tests negative.

When asked on the BBC Today programme about the prospect of airport tests, Matt Hancock said: “We’re working on that.

“The challenge with the biology of the virus is that it incubates for up to two weeks in the body so just having a test doesn’t mean that you don’t have the virus in you.

“So you have to have repeat testing.”

The aviation industry has proposed a test on arrival followed by a second either five or eight days later.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the government, has been considering a quarantine-and-test system that would cut the need to self-isolate to 10 days. The Sage group believes it would pick up 96 per cent of infected individuals.

But business travellers and tourists may not be interested in shaving just a few days from quarantine, and could instead avoid travel to the UK.

Heathrow airport’s new testing facility in Terminal 2 is aimed at passengers who are prepared to pay £150 for a PCR test in the hope of reducing the duration of self-isolation.

It has been set up by the international medical and security firm Collinson and the ground-handling operator, Swissport, and can test 13,000 passengers each day.

On Monday, the health secretary is expected to discuss options with the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and the Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove.

According to the Telegraph, they will consider allowing double testing or quarantine plus a single test as an alternative to the 14 days of self-isolation.

The ministers are also expected to discuss the prospect of allowing quarantine-free travel to low-risk areas of popular countries – such as the Balearics and Canary Islands of Spain, and Madeira and the Azores in Portugal.

At present, the government has a strictly binary approach to destinations: either a country is regarded as high risk or low risk, with no differentiation between regions.

The travel industry and MPs have been calling for a more nuanced approach to quarantine in a bid to limit the severe damage to airlines and holiday firms caused by the government’s on-off quarantine requirements.