Lufthansa and the airports in Munich and Hamburg will start using COVID-19 rapid antigen tests. In collaboration with Centogene and the Medicover Group medical centers, MVZ Martinsried, Lufthansa will offer its customers the opportunity to test for Covid-19 for free.
IATA and many airlines requires rapid testing of passengers before flights. It wants to avoid quarantine, in an attempt to revitalize aviation and tourism.
The first COVID-19 antigen tests will be performed for volunteer passengers who will fly on the Munich-Hamburg and Hamburg-Munich routes on 12 November.
Flight LH2058 to Hamburg will take off from Munich International Airport (MUC) at 09:10 local time. The LH2059 flight to Munich will take off from Hamburg International Airport (HAM) at 11:15 local time.
Passengers who do not wish to be tested will be transferred to another flight at no additional cost.
The test results will be ready in a maximum of 60 minutes. If the antigen test result is negative, the boarding pass will be activated and the passenger will be able to continue the boarding process. Passengers may also have a negative PCR test performed no later than 48 hours in advance.
Passengers will not pay anything for testing. They will only need to register in advance and know that the boarding process will take longer.
The results of this experiment will help the airline obtain important information about rapid testing in an attempt to revitalize international air traffic.