BTN contributor Chris Tarry is amongst a diversified group teaming up to try and persuade government that it has got it wrong with regard to coronavirus airport testing.

Caircraft is an international collaboration between high-level critical care physicians, disaster response experts and aviation, logistics and business leaders.  

In a submission to The Taskforce it puts forward its own views on the solution.  

Acting as CEO, Nick Dyne, says that the present quarantine scheme has failed with a compliance rate of 18%, retrieved from a ‘confidential’ government report.

Caircraft is suggesting up to three tests, with the number dependent on other countries’ Covid “threat”. It proposes a pre-departure test close to the flight, an arrivals test to catch those who develop the virus en route and a possible quarantine period, depending on the relative risk of the traveller’s home country. It puts countries into seven bands: no isolation for those from nations where the risk is lower than the UK’s own threshold and up to five days for those from Covid hotspots. For those quarantined, there’d be another test before leaving.

Crucially, its tests would be antigen-based priced at £15 and the results available in 15 minutes, not the £150 suggested, or even the £80 that is now being charged in Heathrow T2 and T5.

www.caircraft.org