Delta Air Lines, Aeroporti di Roma and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have joined a unique transatlantic COVID-19 testing program that will allow quarantine-free entry into Italy, according to a decree expected to be issued soon by the Italian government.
“Carefully designed COVID-19 testing protocols are the best way to resume international travel safely and without quarantine until vaccinations are widely adopted,” said Steve Sear, Delta President International & EVP Global Sales. ‘Safety is our most important promise – this is at the heart of this groundbreaking test exercise and forms the basis of our continually evolving standard of hygiene to ensure our travelers have peace of mind flying with Delta.’
Delta enlisted expert consultants from Mayo Clinic, a world leader in serious and complex health care, to assess the traveler testing protocols Delta requires to implement a COVID-tested flight program.
‘Based on the modeling we have done, when testing protocols are combined with multiple layers of protection such as hood requirement, adequate spacing and environmental decontamination, we can predict that the risk of COVID-19 infection on a flight with 60% occupancy would be less than one in a million,’ said Mr. B., who is a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Air Force. Henry Ting, Chief Value Officer of Mayo Clinic.
Delta has also worked closely with the Georgia Department of Public Health. With their help, Delta developed a blueprint for governments to reopen key international travel markets.
“The State of Georgia and the Italian government have shown leadership in testing the protocols and practices that allow international travel to resume safely without quarantine requirements,” Sear adds.
Starting December 19, 2020, Delta will test passengers and crew as a special trial on its recently resumed flights from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Rome-Fiumicino International Airport (FCO). The tests will exempt U.S. citizens who may travel to Italy for essential reasons, such as work, health and education, from quarantine upon arrival in Italy, as well as all residents of the European Union and Italy.
To fly on Delta’s COVID-19 tested flights between Atlanta and Rome, all passengers must test negative for COVID-19 through:
- A COVID Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken up to 72 hours before departure;
- Took a quick test at the Atlanta airport before boarding;
- A quick test on arrival at Rome-Fiumicino
- A quick test at Rome Fiumicino airport before leaving for the United States
Travelers are also asked to provide information upon arrival in the U.S. to support the contact investigation protocols of the CDC, the U.S. equivalent of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
Aeroporti di Roma already implemented a successful COVID-tested flight trial within Italy earlier this year with Delta’s partner Alitalia and is the only airport in the world to receive the maximum rating of 5 stars from Skytrax on its anti-COVID health protocols. Rome-Fiumicino Airport handles 40 million passengers a year and has been rated Europe’s best ‘Hub’ airport by Airports Council International three years in a row.
About Delta CareStandard
The health and safety of customers and employees remains Delta’s top priority. Travelers aboard Delta’s COVID-tested flights also benefit from more than 100 safety and hygiene initiatives Delta has implemented under the Delta CareStandard, from keeping the middle seats empty (until at least March 30) for more distance, the rigorous adherence to wearing mouth masks to completely disinfecting the cabin with electrostatic spray prior to each flight.
Recent research shows how well these measures work. In one of the most comprehensive studies to date, scientists from Harvard last month that the various layers of protection used during air travel, such as frequent air circulation and the mandatory wearing of a mask, make flying on an airplane as safe or even safer than other activities such as going to the supermarket or eating out.
