Cyprus Mail 26 November 2020 - by Andrew Rosenbaum
Delta Air Lines and Alitalia initiate “quarantine free” flights between the US and Italy, Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) announced on Thursday in a press release.
Rome’s Fiumicino airport will be the first airport in Europe to connect with some destinations in the United States, with no quarantine on either side.
The two airlines are opening up the first travel corridor linking the US and Europe since countries introduced isolation rules during the pandemic.
From next month, passengers travelling on select flights from Atlanta to Rome would not have to self-isolate if they test negative for Covid-19 three times on their journey. Passengers will have to show negative results on the PCR test 72 hours before departure, but then will only have rapid tests at the airport in Atlanta before boarding and again on arrival in Italy (and vice-versa in the other direction).
“The new travel protocols will start out on an experimental basis, under the supervision of the Italian ministries of health, transport and foreign affairs,” the press release noted. “They will be progressively offered to passengers starting as early as this month of December. The experimental phase will aim to evaluate the effectiveness and functionality of the new protocol, with the aim of making it more widely available in the upcoming Summer 2021 season. The policy will also authorise Covid-Tested corridors between Munich, Bavaria, Frankfurt and Fiumicino to ensure that this new travel method can also be tested within the European Union,” the release explained.
Italy is the first European country to try out this innovative procedure. This is because flights from Fiumicino on the Rome-Milan routes have had this protocol operational since last September 16.
“They have made use of the rapid testing facilities already operating at the airport with the support of the Lazio Region, for a quick and easy travel experience. In fact, since mid-August, a rapid testing center has been active in the Arrivals area of Fiumicino Terminal 3, with results provided in less than 30 minutes, managed by medical staff from the Lazio Region and the USMAF-Ministry of Health,” the release said.
Both airlines will also be using high efficiency Hepa filters in the airplane cabins, and these will guarantee the constant exchange of air in the cabin, ensuring passenger safety inflight.
“Ensuring passenger safety is one of the essential prerequisites for relaunching air traffic, which is still severely impacted by the effects of the pandemic,” said the CEO of ADR, Marco Troncone.
“To this end, ADR determined a path that was immediately based on a maximum security airport and then oriented towards proposing new safe and innovative travel protocols, first developed on a prototype basis on the Rome-Milan route and now extended to important destinations long range. We are proud to have been forerunners of these models, thanks to the Ministers of Health, Transport and Foreign Affairs, the Lazio Region and in close coordination with Alitalia and Delta Air Lines, respectively the flag carrier of the country and the first major global airline,” the press release concluded.
