WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — Bradley International Airport is adding another resource to help staff and travelers battle COVID-19.
The airport launched a COVID-19 testing site with a new partnership with Connecticut-based lab Genesys Diagnostics.
The site is located in the baggage claim near belts 5 and 6.
Airport officials hope this testing site will instill confidence in people traveling through the international airport.
The test will only be available to passengers traveling through the airport, with a boarding pass, as well as employees 7-days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
FOX61 spoke with a few travelers who took the test who said it was a breeze.
Doris Swan who came from an arrival flight from Montana returning to Uncasville said, “: “I just got off the plane, the took my ID and my insurance information put me into the computer, gave me a little test tube I went down got swabbed.”
Health officials with the lab say you will get swabbed in each nostril for 15 seconds.
Airport Authorities advise if you don’t have insurance, or if your policy doesn’t cover COVID-testing the test could cost $125.
Lab officials with Genesys diagnostics estimate only about 10-percent of all passengers will use this service putting about 300-people getting tested a day, but with the airport operating at a slower pace than normal authorities say it’ll be easy to meet demands.
Kevin Dillon who is the Executive Director of Connecticut Airport Authority said, “It’s very important for us to offer this option to travelers to make it easy for them to travel, convenient for them to travel to come to Connecticut and do business.”
Another passenger who took advantage of the testing site says she was escaping the dangers of the wildfires still on-going in California,
Seanna McLaughlin is returning to Mansfield, Connecticut from Davis, California which wasn’t directly impacted by the flames, but says the experience over there was still scary nonetheless.
McLaughlin said, “The air quality is horrible, you really couldn’t go outside for almost a month.”
McLaughlin says she recommends people to get tested to avoid the 14-day mandatory quarantine if traveling from an area with high COVID-19 infection rates.
“I was going to get a test when I got here, I want to go maybe to UCONN and find a spot but this was way easier,” said McLaughlin.
It’s still advised people fill out a travel advisory form with the department of public health and if you’d like to beat the lines, health officials advise you pre-register online.
Airport officials want to remind people that United Airlines announced last week that it is launching a pilot program to make COVID-19 tests available for its customers heading to Hawaii.
Starting Oct. 15, United passengers flying from San Francisco International Airport will be able to take a rapid coronavirus test at the airport, or purchase a mail-in test ahead of their trip.
United said it worked with Hawaii officials to ensure that the airline's pilot program would align with the state's guidelines. United said it's the first U.S. airline to make COVID-19 tests available to its customers.
Airlines have been implementing several safety measures and changes to encourage travelers to fly again. Most major airlines now require passengers and workers to wear masks onboard due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In late August, United said it had placed about 150 passengers on its internal no-fly risk for failure to follow mask policies.
Unlike some other airlines, United resumed filling flights to full capacity over the summer.