No Flight Can Be Truly COVID-Free
Delta now offers “no-quarantine” flights to Europe , which, while daring, are also billed as “COVID-free.” If only it were so easy to guarantee that the coronavirus was not on the plane. However, a testing protocol is used on flights to reduce the likelihood of someone with COVID going on board.
The airline currently offers two such routes: one from Atlanta to Amsterdam and one from Atlanta to Rome . Both Italy and the Netherlands require travelers to be quarantined, but have agreed that people who enter countries on these flights can bypass this restriction.
However, no country currently allows tourist travel, so these flights are for people who have a legitimate job, study, or medical condition.
Flights will not operate at full capacity, the middle seats will be locked, and masks will be forced to be worn. Delta describes the pre-flight test protocol as follows:
To fly Delta’s COVID-verified flights between Atlanta and Rome, customers must test negative for COVID-19 by:
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID 72 hours before departure
- Rapid test at Atlanta airport before boarding.
- Rapid test upon arrival in Rome Fiumicino
- Rapid test in Rome-Fiumicino before departure to the USA.
Customers will also be asked to provide information upon entering the United States to support CDC contact tracing protocols.
Delta reports that the state of Georgia and the governments of the Netherlands and Rome have agreed on protocols, and that mathematical simulations show that the risk of contracting COVID on such a flight is minimal.
However, it cannot be guaranteed that a flight is truly COVID-free. You can become infected with COVID, for example, while driving through an airport, in which case you are more likely to get a negative rapid test result.
This option can be useful if you need to travel for important reasons, especially if you are in a high-risk group. Delta has not disclosed what happens if you book a flight and test positive at the airport, or if you fly and test positive on landing.