COVID-19: Virgin Atlantic Launches Pre-departure Testing

From 9 December, Virgin Atlantic customers flying to Barbados or onwards to Antigua and Grenada on selected flights will receive a free, rapid, point of care, pre-departure lateral flow antigen COVID-19 test at London Heathrow Airport.

This initiative is part of an airline-led trial to gather vital data on the logistics and effectiveness of pre-departure testing. The first flight in the trial will be VS186 departing Wednesday 9 December.

The simple nasal and throat swab in Virgin Atlantic’s trial will be administered up to 1 hour 45 minutes before departure by a registered nurse at the Pre-Departure Collinson and Swissport Terminal 2 facility, taking no more than five minutes.

Customers will receive their digital and printed test results within less than 30 minutes, proceeding to security and boarding following confirmation of a negative result.

The customers included in the trial will be contacted by Virgin Atlantic in the coming days with information on the pre-departure test.

The testing trial will offer further peace of mind for customers and build upon Virgin Atlantic’s multi-layered approached to health and safety to ensure that customers fly safe and fly well.