--- title: "Airports Are Rolling Out 30 Minute COVID Tests" description: "A number of airports in Europe are working to bring 30 minute COVID-19 tests to airports, in the hopes of breathing new life into the industry." date: "2020-09-24" modified: "2020-09-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/airports-30-minute-covid-tests" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "the digest" --- # Airports Are Rolling Out 30 Minute COVID Tests ![A number of airports in Europe are working to bring 30 minute COVID-19 tests to airports, in the hopes of breathing new life into the industry.]() *\Image: Images via Pixabay\* ## COVID Air A number of airports in Europe are working to bring 30 minute COVID-19 tests to airports, [*Bloomberg* reports](). The aviation industry is hoping it could persuade more travelers to resume air travel. Rome's international airport was first to introduce rapid pre-flight screening earlier this month. Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, is also testing similar solutions. "We need the system to work and work quickly. Otherwise this industry will not survive," International Air Transport Association director general Alexandre de Juniac said during a Thursday event, as quoted by *Bloomberg*. ## Dying Industry International travel has taken a nosedive during the pandemic, with governments around the world putting heavy restrictions on the movement of people to curb infection rates. Some airlines are hoping that pre-flight screening could allow travelers to skip self-quarantine after travel. For instance, United Airlines believes passengers could skip 14-day quarantine requirements on certain flights to and from Hawaii, according to *Bloomberg*. ## Rapid Antigen Test The "rapid antigen tests" can detect a specific protein on the surface of the virus, a departure from the usual polymerase chain reaction tests (PCR) that generally take much longer. The test involves a simple swab and can be completed in just 30 minutes. It's also far cheaper. The idea is to have travelers be swabbed up to 72 hours before boarding a flight. Anybody who tests negative will be sent back home and ordered to self-isolate. But [specialists worry]() that since antigen tests aren't as sensitive as PCR, some infected people could end up falling through the cracks. **READ MORE:** [Airports Use Speedy Virus Tests, Sniffer Dogs to Spur Travel]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on COVID:** *[A Brazilian City May Have Had Enough COVID-19 Cases to Reach Herd Immunity]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()