Mobile COVID-19 laboratory at Brussels Airport operational

The mobile laboratory at Brussels Airport is now open. With this lab, the samples taken in the Test Centre can be analysed immediately on site, and therefore faster than before. Rapid tests are now possible as well, enabling passengers to receive their tests results within 4 hours. Since the opening of the Test Centre on 14 September, more than 7000 passengers have already been tested at Brussels Airport.

A month after the opening of the Test Centre at Brussels Airport, the analysis laboratory at the airport is operational. Henceforth, the PCR test samples can be processed on site, so passengers will receive their results even faster (within an average of 9 hours, maximum 24 hours).

With this on-site laboratory, it is also possible to opt for a PCR rapid test with the result available within four hours1. This is particularly useful for departing passengers who need a negative test certificate for a specific destination.

1 Rapid tests with results within 4 hours are available between 5 am and 6 pm. The results of the rapid tests taken before 5 am are available between 9 and 10am. The results of the rapid tests taken after 6pm will be available between 9 and 10 am the next day.

Since early October, arriving passengers coming from a red zone no longer have to get tested upon their arrival but after a period of five days. They are still welcome to have that test taken at the Test Centre at Brussels Airport with their activation code. People who are not travelling but need to be tested as part of the contact tracing, or have a prescription from a doctor, can also make use of the Test Centre. The same goes for pilots and cabin crew and all staff working at the airport. This additional testing capacity remains necessary and important in the current health crisis in Belgium.

The Test Centre and the laboratory are run by Ecolog as a logistic partner, in collaboration with Eurofins-Labo Van Poucke. Persons who have an activation code from the government (return red zone or contact tracing) and a Belgian health insurance can get tested free of charge. In all other cases, one pays 67 euros for a standard PCR test and 135 euros for the PCR rapid test.

Since the opening of the Test Centre on 14 September, more than 7000 people have already been tested at Brussels Airport. Testing is essential for the recovery of aviation and the economy in general. The Test Centre and laboratory at Brussels Airport are an important part of the solution to make travel safe and give aviation the prospect of a recovery that is essential for the survival of the aviation sector.

It is advised to make an appointment online for a test via https://brusselsairport.ecocare.center/.

Adjustment of the temperature screening

Following the government's decision that passengers returning from a red zone only have to get tested on the 5th day after their arrival, temperature screening for arriving passengers will be ceased from 15 October onwards. The temperature screening for departing passengers remains in force. The current setup will be adapted shortly to optimise the passenger flow.

The other sanitary measures remain in full force, the airport keeps focussing on social distance, the wearing of face masks, hand hygiene and the cleaning and disinfection of the infrastructure.