German airline Lufthansa plans to start offering rapid coronavirus testing for passengers in October, Reuters reported on Tuesday citing the company executive.
The company's Senior Director for Product Management, Ground & Digital Services, Bjoern Becker said the new antigen tests will initially be available for first-class and business-class passengers only because supplies are limited.
"You know that companies like Abbott or Roche are bringing these tests to the market and we are definitely looking into this," Becker told Reuters.
In April, Dubai-based Emirates became the first airline to introduce pre-flight rapid COVID-19 tests for passengers, according to the company.
Antigen tests such as those developed by US-based Abbott Laboratories return a result in 15 minutes, using a disposable $5 device the size of a credit card. The tests can be paired with mobile app, called NAVICA, which Abbott describes as "a secure digital boarding pass that can be scanned to enter organizations and other places where people gather."
