The governor of New York, Mr. Cuomo, said on a press briefing on Monday that British Airways had agreed to require all New York-bound passengers to have a negative Covid-19 PCR-RT test. The governor had requested the same from Delta Air Line and Virgin Atlantic.
Many, if not most, countries have closed their borders for passenger flights originating from the UK due to mutated Covid-19 virus circulating in the Southeast and London area that potentially spreads easier. However, it doesn’t appear to be more lethal.
You can access British Airways here.
UPDATE: The test requirement is in place from December 22 per BA:
We have agreed pre-departure testing for passengers on flights from the UK to New York from tomorrow in line with the request. We continue to work closely with local health authorities around the world.
Here’s an excerpt from the Times Union (access their piece here):
British Airways will begin testing passengers for COVID-19 who are flying to New York in an effort to slow the spread of a new, more transmissible strain of the deadly virus that has been discovered in the United Kingdom.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said he’s asked the three airlines that shuttle passengers across the Atlantic to New York from the U.K. — British Airways, Delta Airlines and Virgin Atlantic — to voluntarily require passengers to test negative for the virus before travel. British Airways agreed, while Delta and Virgin Atlantic have yet to respond, Cuomo said. There are 120 other countries with this requirement, Cuomo said, and a number of countries that have banned travel from the U.K. Altogether.
Conclusion
It is quite telling that the governor of a state needs to act in the US to get airlines to test for Covid-19 because the Federal Government is incapacitated for another month.
Let’s see if Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines agreed to the governor’s request not to transport Covid-19 infected passengers to New York.
It is an unfortunate hurdle for those traveling from the UK to the US.
