AirAsia welcomes approval of COVID-19 saliva testing
Aviation Updates Philippines – In a press release on Tuesday, budget carrier AirAsia Philippines said
it welcomes the government's approval of the relatively cheaper saliva testing
for COVID-19.
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The airline sees this as an opportunity to further stimulate the demand for
air travel, after going through a comparably sluggish 2020 due to worldwide
COVID-19 restrictions.
AirAsia Philippines Spokesperson Steve Dailisan said, “This will definitely
positively increase the appetite of air travelers, especially for AirAsia
leisure destinations such as Boracay and Bohol that require RT-PCR test.
Saliva RT-PCR test is not only cheaper but also non-invasive and less
stringent.
“While waiting for the vaccine, you can be assured that AirAsia will continue
to find ways to offer cheaper alternatives, to lessen the financial burden of
the flying public in fulfilling the requirements for air travel,” he added.
The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) earlier approved the said test
after the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) reported a successful pilot testing,
which yielded an accuracy rate of 98.11 percent.
The RT-PCR saliva testing, which can generate results after three to four
hours, costs around P1,500-P2,000 compared to the RT-PCR swab test which
ranges from P3,500-5,000.
As of the moment, only PRC laboratories are allowed to conduct these tests at
their initial stage. However, AirAsia said its diagnostic laboratory partner,
Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADLab), is now in the process of
securing approval from the DOH to facilitate the saliva testing.
With the introduction of the cheap yet effective saliva testing, the airline
hopes it would restore passenger confidence in flying.
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