Covid-19 testing to begin at Dublin airport later this week

Dublin airport claims the two healthcare companies have the capacity for more than 12,000 tests per day which later will rise to 15,000. File picture. 

Covid-19 testing at Dublin airport begins this week on Thursday with the roll out of drive-through or walk-in tests. 

Healthcare firms Randox and RocDoc will operate the testing and prices begin at €99. 

Customers and passengers need to pre-book online in advance and links to booking portals are available on Dublin airport's website. 

Dublin airport claims the two companies have the capacity for more than 12,000 tests per day, later rising to 15,000. 

Randox’s walk-through facility will be located close to the Terminal 2 multi-storey car park and will have separate entry and exit points for customers. 

RocDoc’s drive-through facility will be located in the Express Green car park. 

Both PCR and LAMP testing will be available. Sophie Boyd, Project Manager for Randox’s testing service at Dublin Airport said PCR testing is the only Covid-19 testing available recognised by  every country worldwide. 

Last week, Cork and Shannon airport began operating their Covid-19 airport testing facilities with Rocdoc. 

Both airports hope that the testing service will allow some resumption of normality in air travel across the EU. 

RocDoc has claimed it can provide thousands of tests per day if necessary. The healthcare firm's use of PCR testing is approved by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) and is the only testing method recognised by the government for foreign travel. 

The healthcare company also provides LAMP testing that returns a result within a few hours but this is not approved yet by the government and is subject to negotiations. 

Testing is one of the main elements of the European Union's traffic light system for travel. Demand for travel-related Covid-19 testing has increased after the government opted in to the EU's traffic light travel system. 

Many countries now require arriving passengers to have had a negative Covid-19 test result prior to travel. 

Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said the opening of dedicated Covid-19 testing facilities at Dublin Airport was “a very positive step to help people travel safely and meet emerging rules both at home and abroad.” 

However, he added that “Ireland needs a rapid low-cost Covid-19 testing system for travel similar to those being trialled and used in other countries using Antigen testing”.