[ti:Airlines Seek Quick Coronavirus Tests for Passengers] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]European airlines are aiming to give passengers [00:04.80]quick, pre-flight coronavirus tests [00:08.76]in an effort to get more travelers to start flying again. [00:14.88]The tests could produce results in as little as 15 minutes. [00:21.36]The airlines hope the effort will help convince passengers [00:26.68]that flying is safe during the continuing health crisis. [00:32.80]Germany's Lufthansa is in talks with Swiss drug company Roche [00:38.96]over deploying the so-called antigen tests, the Reuters news agency reported. [00:47.16]Several airlines are planning to make the tests available to passengers [00:52.48]as early as next month, Reuters said. [00:57.52]Officials for Italy's Alitalia told Reuters [01:02.28]that the airline had added two flights from Milan to Rome [01:07.12]that only accept passengers with negative coronavirus tests. [01:13.72]Those flights are in addition to two it is already offering from Rome to Milan. [01:21.92]Alitalia says health officials give the tests at the airport. [01:28.44]The tests are included in ticket prices. [01:32.96]The airline also said it plans to offer more antigen-tested flights within Italy [01:40.28]and internationally if they prove to be popular and safe. [01:46.84]Unlike the more commonly used laboratory-based molecular tests for COVID-19, [01:54.16]antigen tests do not require machines to process. [01:59.84]Much like pregnancy tests, they can produce results in about 15 minutes. [02:07.24]However, the tests require collection of a nasal sample that can be unpleasant. [02:15.28]They also have higher error rates than the molecular, or PCR, tests. [02:23.56]Antigen tests generally produce more "false negatives," [02:28.76]which could lead to some sick people getting on planes. [02:34.56]An increasing number of antigen tests are becoming available [02:40.00]from companies including Abbott Laboratories, [02:44.04]Becton, Dickinson and Company, Quidel and Roche. [02:51.00]Quick antigen tests that can be given by non-medical workers [02:56.56]are expected to be available in the coming weeks, said Alexandre de Juniac. [03:03.52]He is head of the International Air Transport Association. [03:10.28]He added that the tests could cost as little as $7 each. [03:17.40]Airlines have been pressing governments to come up with new safety measures [03:23.20]to ease widespread travel restrictions that were put in place [03:28.56]after Europe started seeing a rise in cases. [03:33.72]Even though the tests are not perfect, airline companies [03:38.40]hope they can help people feel safer about flying. [03:44.16]"It is to give ... confidence, at a specific point in time, [03:49.40]that the result is positive or negative," said Christian Paulus, [03:54.92]a Roche research and development manager. [03:59.60]He added that because of possible errors with antigen tests, [04:04.84]results would need to be confirmed in some cases using the PCR method. [04:12.60]A spokesman for Alitalia said none of its passengers [04:17.60]who took the pre-flight antigen tests were positive. [04:22.96]The airline said it plans to examine findings from its testing experiment [04:28.68]in the middle of October before deciding whether to expand the program. [04:35.64]Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr recently told employees [04:41.84]that the airline was in talks with Roche over deploying the tests. [04:47.56]A Lufthansa spokeswoman told Reuters the airline believes the tests [04:53.52]would be a better solution "than putting somebody into quarantine." [04:59.88]Germany is considering wider antigen test use starting in October, [05:06.28]including in nursing homes where older patients [05:10.76]have been hardest hit by COVID-19. [05:14.68]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM