In what could be a forecast of airline procedures in the age of COVID-19, Lufthansa has announced that passengers can decide whether they want to be tested for the virus upon arrival in Frankfurt or Munich instead of going into 14-day quarantine if their travel originated in certain high-risk countries. Those countries, as listed on the Robert-Koch Institute include South Africa, India, Brazil and certain states in the U.S. including California, Texas and Florida. (But not New York.)
Passengers register for the tests in advance and upon arrival in Frankfurt are taken to a separate area where airline partner Centogene is offering PCR (polymerase chain reaction) corona tests—a throat swab. 380 tests per hour are the projected number that can be processed in the lab at the airport with results returned in four-five hours to an app the passenger downloads; findings are linked to the passenger’s ticket in the case of ongoing travel. (Try to arrive within normal business hours, though, since the facility is only open from 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. Monday-Friday and 9:00 A.M.-5 P.M. on the weekends.) In Munich, the tests are offered in conjunction with the local airport clinic Medicare in Terminal 1. Passengers arriving there should also request the tests in advance by email (notfallambulanz@munich-airport.de) with results available in three-four hours.
According to Dr. Björn Becker, Senior Director Product Management Ground & Digital Services Lufthansa Group, passengers should always be aware of regulations in an ever-changing landscape in destinations to which they’re heading. Since many are now also requiring test results demonstrating that passengers are virus-free, Lufthansa passengers departing from Frankfurt and Munich should also avail themselves of these tests, preferably a day ahead of their flights. “This makes it easier for them to travel safely to other countries worldwide that accept a certified PCR corona test as well to avoid quarantine, he says.“
