Delta Launches Second COVID-Tested Corridor from United States

Days after announcing their first partnership to offer quarantine-free travel into Europe, Delta Air Lines is adding another test-controlled corridor to their plans. Working with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the carriers will start COVID-tested flights starting Dec. 15, 2020.

In an effort to restart international travel, Delta Air Lines is opening up a second COVID-19 testing corridor which would allow flyers to bypass quarantine upon landing in The Netherlands. In a press release, the airline announced they would work with SkyTeam partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to open a testing program between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Plan Calls for Four Weekly Flights Operated by Delta and KLM

Under the trial, four flights per week between Atlanta and Amsterdam will require travelers to submit to COVID-19 tests before and after arrival. The flights will be split evenly between Delta and KLM. Flyers who do not wish to submit to the testing will be given the option to select different flights during booking.

In order to board the flights, travelers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test five days before arrival in The Netherlands. Once the test comes back negative, flyers must self-isolate until their day of travel. Before departing from Atlanta, flyers will be given a rapid antigen COVID-19 test, followed by a second PCR test upon arrival at Schiphol. If all three PCR test are negative, travelers will be allowed to enter Amsterdam without a 10-day government-mandated quarantine.

“All stakeholders need to work together on a systematic approach to rapid testing and build these tests into the passenger experience, so quarantine measures can be lifted as quickly as possible,” Pieter Elbers, president and CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said in a press release. “This is fundamental to restore passengers’ and governments’ confidence in air travel.”

Although the testing scheme marks an important step towards re-opening international travel, it doesn’t give tourists a free entry option into Europe. According to Delta, the option will only be available for those traveling “for essential reasons,” including work, health or education reasons.

Atlanta-Amsterdam Corridor Second Test Controlled Route for Delta

The four weekly flights between Atlanta and Amsterdam are the second test-controlled route for Delta from their headquarter city and Europe. In the previous week, the carrier also announced a partnership which would open test-controlled travel between the United States and Rome. Like the Amsterdam flights, the Atlanta-Rome option would be limited to travelers with qualified reasons to enter Italy.