MAG bolsters its onsite testing with eight new centres across all three of its airports and welcomes new provider onboard
- MAG is set to increase its three testing sites (currently one at each airport) to 11 across Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports
- Randox comes onboard alongside existing testing partner Collinson to deliver the new facilities
- Mixture of pre-booked drive-through and walk-through centres to be offered with rapid three-hour PCR testing available
- Majority of the sites to be open by early July, with others to open in line with increase in passenger numbers
- PCR prices start from £60 to book or for more information see each airport’s websites
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has announced plans to more than treble the number of testing sites at its airports ahead of the restart of international travel.
MAG – which owns Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports – also confirmed Randox will join existing partner Collinson to operate the sites, which will be a combination of walk-through and drive-through testing centres.
Together, they will operate 11 sites across MAG’s three airports, offering passengers a range of tests for arrival and departure, including packages for amber/green list countries, plus Test to Release, which unlocks passengers from quarantine after a full five days.
Both providers will offer unique tests, including Randox’s rapid 1-3-hour PCR test and Collinson’s same day Test to Release offering. Currently PCR tests can take up to 48 hours, meaning passengers have to come to the airport ahead of their trip. However, with Randox’s rapid PCR test, with results available in just 1-3 hours, travellers can save time and do the test on the day of travel.
Collinson’s same-day Test to Release process uses a rapid LAMP test, meaning that passengers can get their results back on the same day and release from quarantine on day five* with a negative result. Other providers use PCR, meaning it can take up to day six or seven to get a result. These are just two of the services Randox and Collinson will provide across MAG’s airports, with more than a dozen tests and options available.
PCR test prices start from £60, a full list of tests on offer, costs, plus locations at each airport can be found below. Tests can be booked online now.
Brad Miller, Managing Director of MAGO, said:
“Our partnership with Collinson has proved to be successful since launching in December and we are delighted to be welcoming Randox on board.
“This new partnership means customers flying through our airports have a wide range of options to suit their circumstances.
“By offering both arrival and departure tests, as well as a choice of walk-through and drive-through test centres, passengers know they can select whatever it is they need to make their trip as stress-free as possible.
“We are looking forward to working with both partners and hope to get Britain flying again as soon as possible.
“Finally, I’d like to thank all of the staff and colleagues involved from all organisations, in delivering these new services.”
David Evans, Joint CEO from Collinson said:
"The new spacious facilities will enable more travellers to be tested in a safe and comfortable environment, ensuring that departures and arrivals can happen as conveniently as possible. Collinson is proud to offer the full range of Government-approved COVID-19 testing solutions, including the only Test-to-Release process that allows travellers testing negative to be safely released from quarantine after just five full days.
“We're continuing to develop and strengthen our relationship with MAG, offering a full spectrum of tests and helping to support travellers as they prepare for a well-deserved summer break."
David Ferguson, Sales Director from Randox said:
“To date Randox has processed over 13 million gold-standard PCR samples, and testing continues to be a vital part of the response to COVID-19 – not only to identify cases and prevent further spread, but also to assist with a return to social normality and international travel.
“We are delighted to be working with Manchester Airports Group to support its enormous efforts to ensure passenger safety, and with premium COVID testing services in place across Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, our new partnership will allow people to get back in the air again when international travel resumes.
“Randox is committed to providing accurate and cost-effective testing to ensure that essential travel, and holidaying when and where possible, is accessible, affordable and reliable and as such have invested in our capacity to now be able to process over 500,000 tests per day.”
MAG is the UK’s largest airport operator and has been at the forefront of passenger safety throughout the pandemic. It was one of the first airport groups to introduce a range of onsite safety measures including mandatory face coverings, enhanced cleaning, bookable security slots and sanitiser stations. It opened its first testing centres in December 2020 with Collinson and has performed over 100,000 tests across its three airports to date.
BREAKDOWN OF TESTING CENTRES BY AIRPORT
AIRPORT | LOCATIONS |
Manchester | The Station – Walk-through Runger Lane – Drive-through JetParks Ringway – Drive-through A further walk-through centre will open in the summer |
East Midlands | Administration Building – Walk-through Long Stay 1 – Drive-through JetParks 2 – Drive-through |
London Stansted | Terminal – Walk-through Short Stay Yellow – Walk-through JetParks Zones T & P – Drive-through JetParks Zones R & X – Drive-through |
TESTS ON OFFER:
Collinson
Prices subject to change:
- Departures – PCR (48 hours) - £65
- Departures – LAMP - £65
- Departures – Antigen - £30
- Departures – Antibody - £25
- Arrivals – Green Arrival (Day 2) - £75
- Arrivals – Amber Arrival (Day 2 and 8 package) - £130
- Arrivals – Test to Release (same day) - £75 *Please note that the Government stipulates that the day of arrival is regarded as Day 0. Test appointments should be made for before 4pm in order to receive same-day results (before midnight).
Randox
- Departures – PCR (1-3 hours) / (12 hours) / (next day) - £95 / £70 / £60
- Departures – LAMP - £70
- Departures – Antigen - £39
- Departures – Antibody - £39
- Arrivals – Green Arrival (Day 2) - £60
- Arrivals – Amber Arrival (Day 2 and 8 package) - £120
- Arrivals – Test to Release (12 hours) - £60
Prices are correct at time of print and are subject to change.
For more information or to book see each airport’s website.
Notes to editors:
About MAG
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is the UK’s largest airport operator and owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports. It served more than 60 million passengers in 2019/20. In April 2021, MAG served 96.7% fewer passengers than in April 2019 due to the pandemic.
About Collinson
Collinson is a global leader in the provision of traveller experiences including medical and security assistance and travel medical services. Its travel medical and security assistance business unit has more than 55 years’ experience in the delivery of international medical assistance and emergency care, including the handling of pandemics such as Ebola, Zika and the coronavirus. Last year alone, Collinson responded to over 95,000 emergency calls, managed over 40,000 medical cases and conducted over 3,000 aero-medical evacuations across the 170 countries it serves.
Collinson has over 2,000 employees operating out of 17 locations globally, all working to deliver a broad range of traveller experiences that ensure the safety, welfare and comfort of 55 million people as they travel for business and leisure around the world. Collinson’s traveller experiences include the world’s leading airport lounge and experiences programme, Priority Pass, as well as travel insurance, identity assistance, flight delay, international health and travel risk management solutions. We work with clients including: American Express, Cathay Pacific, CBA, Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Charlie Miller (UK)
cmiller@golin.com
+447478845445
About Randox
Established in 1982, Randox is the largest healthcare diagnostics company from the UK and Ireland; undertaking research, development, manufacture and distribution of innovative laboratory tests and analysers. In 2020 Randox manufactured 4.2 billion tests and operated in 145 countries. With over 2,000 staff, including 450 research scientists and engineers, key facilities are located in Co Antrim, Co Donegal, London, Liverpool and Dublin.
Randox focuses on the provision of timely and accurate testing in order to identify risk to health, improve clinical diagnoses and promote preventative healthcare; aiming to achieve better healthcare outcomes whilst reducing the burden on clinical services. The company’s comprehensive portfolio includes tests for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
Randox’s proprietary Biochip Technology allows many tests to be run simultaneously, greatly improving the diagnostic power available to clinicians. This innovation enables Randox Health Clinics in Liverpool, London and Northern Ireland to provide advanced health screening involving hundreds of diagnostic tests. Such health checks provide an extraordinary insight into a person’s current and future health.
In early 2020 Randox recognised the threat from COVID-19 and, based on almost 40 years of diagnostic experience, quickly developed a test to accurately identify the virus. Testing at scale commenced within weeks to support the UK’s National Testing Programme and private clients.
Through the enormous effort and commitment of its staff Randox is subsequently operating at a capacity of 500,000 COVID-19 samples per day, making it the most productive laboratory in the UK and Ireland and amongst the very largest in Europe. Randox has the largest COVID testing logistics network in the UK and Ireland, with 23 Randox testing locations including clinics, travel centres and mobile laboratories, 200+ testing partners, and 80+ dropbox collection points.
In May 2021 Randox surpassed 13 million gold-standard PCR tests for the National Testing Programme, representing approximately 21% of all PCR tests executed in the UK.
Randox is clear that better diagnostics are unquestionably critical to future improvements within healthcare and is committed to remaining at the forefront of that field.
For media enquiries please contact:
Amy Millar: amy.millar@Randox.com / 028 9442 2413