Nice Côte d’Azur airport has established a room dedicated to Covid-19 antigen testing in Terminal 2 following a request from IATA and the French Minister for Transport for the implementation of health corridors.
The antigen tests will be offered as a priority, and on a voluntary basis, to passengers traveling to overseas territories via Paris Orly or Paris-Charles de Gaulle, or to Rome. They will also be available to all outbound travelers on request. For this experimental phase, agreements have been made with Air France and Alitalia to involve these airlines in the process. This partnership means that the airport is able to anticipate the number of passengers due to board the above-mentioned flights and optimize the sampling and testing room.
According to the airport, up to six stations will be available at the same time for taking samples, and four for the administrative, registering and passenger tracking phases. The testing room will be open every day from 5:00am to 1:00pm, and its operations will be modified in accordance with air traffic over the coming weeks.
The implementation of this comprehensive system aims to reassure passengers by combatting the spread of the virus; to facilitate the reopening of borders according to bilateral agreements recognizing the validity of these tests; and to cover its costs through the French health insurance system.
“By working hand-in-hand with French public services, the city of Nice, the health authorities, the airlines and their ground handling agents, we are creating the optimal conditions to enable the largest number of people to be tested all while maintaining fluid passenger flows and the punctuality of departing flights. We would like to thank the Minister for Transport, his teams and all the partners in this pilot project for having trusted us to implement this experiment, which is set to be deployed on a wider scale,” commented Franck Goldnadel, chairman of the board for Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur.
Passengers will be able to arrive at the testing center from four hours and up to 90 minutes before departure, with results being given in about 30 minutes. Before their arrival at the terminal, passengers will be informed of the system and the associated procedure by their airline. They will also be asked to download and fill in the information form from the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport website.