These Airlines in the United States are offering Covid-19 Testing before Boarding a Plane

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Traveling around the United States these days is no longer just a matter of hopping a flight. There are now almost a dozen states requiring airline passengers to quarantine for 14 days as soon as they touch down following the nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Major US airlines are now offering preflight Covid-19 tests to encourage passengers to brave these obstacles and to boost their sagging revenue. These tests are voluntary and cost anywhere from $70 to $150. Some tests can be done at home, while others are available at the airport, and results are provided in a few days. Airlines offering tests still require passengers to wear masks, observe social distancing rules, and practice other safety measures. Each carrier has a slightly different process for administering tests, but all encourage passengers to be tested within 72 hours of boarding.

American Airlines offers passengers a $129 preflight COVID-19 test for anyone traveling in the US. The tests can be ordered online and taken at home. Passengers can send their nasal swap to a lab for testing and have the results within 48 hours. The service is available for passengers traveling to states with quarantine mandates. Delta’s preflight COVID-19 tests are currently only for passengers traveling from Atlanta to Amsterdam. All passengers should take and pass 3 Covid-19 tests under a trial program that starts from 15^th December, in order to avoid the Netherlands’ 10-day quarantine. Hawaiian Airlines offers drive-through COVID-19 testing for passengers flying to Hawaii from Los Angeles and San Francisco airports. The cost for a nasal swab test is $90 for results within 36 hours and $150 for same-day results.

JetBlue passengers may take an at-home COVID-19 saliva test for $143 and customers can have their test sample overnighted to a lab for results for an extra $7. Passengers perform the saliva sample in front of their computer while a test supervisor from Vault Health watches via video chat. Spirit is offering on-site rapid antigen and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests for COVID-19 at a dozen major airports, including Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Seattle. The rapid antigen test costs $69 and delivers results in 30 minutes. The PCR test is $99 with results within 48 hours. Southwest doesn’t offer its passengers a preflight COVID-19 test. United Airlines is offering drive-through virus tests for passengers traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii for $105. Passengers flying from Houston to Latin American countries including Peru and Panama can take a mail-in COVID-19 test for $119.