From December 15, KLM and Delta will offer COVID-free flights between Atlanta and Amsterdam. This cooperation goes further than the two companies, as the project is realised by a joint effort between Atlanta Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the Dutch government.
The concept of a COVID-free corridor is not new. Several airlines and other aviation companies have set up similar projects before. To get these special flights to be genuinely COVID-free, passengers will have to take a PCR-test five days before arrival. A rapid test then has to be taken at Atlanta Airport. Passengers also have to do a PCR-test upon arrival in Amsterdam. The flights are specifically designed for travellers who need to travel for work or other important reasons and don’t want to be quarantined. As such, should travellers test negative for coronavirus all three times, they won’t have to quarantine when arriving in the Netherlands.
For now, this new strategy will only be applied on four weekly flights between Atlanta and Amsterdam. Delta and KLM both carry out two of these flights for the two-week duration of the trial run. Should it prove successful, the airlines would like to extend the concept to the rest of their network.