Delta Air Lines has announced that, pending approval, it will be launching quarantine-free flights from Atlanta to Rome for travellers who have tested negative for the coronavirus and are eligible to enter the European Union despite travel restrictions.
Similar flights could soon also connect Rome with New York, the Italian capital’s airport network announced last week, citing its cooperation with Delta and Italy’s flag carrier Alitalia.
If approved, it would be the first such quarantine-free travel corridor between the US and Europe and could become a role model for how air travel can resume.
Delta Executive Steve Sear said: “Carefully designed Covid-19 testing protocols are the best path for resuming international travel safely and without quarantine until vaccinations are widely in place.”
Meanwhile, a preflight testing program has been launched by British Airways and American Airlines, German flag carrier Lufthansa announced that it had purchased 250,000 antigen rapid tests to trial coronavirus screenings on select flights and Finland’s capital city airport recently deployed coronavirus-sniffing dogs to support scientific research on whether canines can screen for the virus with a higher success rate than traditional tests.
The experimental Atlanta-Rome corridor is expected to launch December 19, 2020.
No start date or exact procedure was provided for the connections between New York and Rome.
