A high-end COVID-19 testing laboratory has been opened at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport to provide a quick and accurate service for passengers.

Ethiopian Airlines and BGI Health Ethiopia, a subsidiary of Chinese genome-sequencing company BGI Group, have partnered to establish the laboratory at the airport’s main hub. The airline reports that the facility can conduct 1 000 COVID-19 tests a day (using immunoglobulin antibody and RT-PCR methods) and will deliver results for regular tests within three hours.

Eskinder Alemu, Ethiopian Airports CEO, says the aim of the laboratory is to revive passenger traffic following the pandemic, and simplify the traveller’s journey. He says the service addresses travel challenges for departing, arriving and in-transit passengers, such as having to search for a testing centre in the city. Alemu adds that ‘the lab at the airport eliminates the hassle for testing and brings convenience and helps restore passengers’ confidence in travel’.

4 May 2021
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