Rapid antigen Covid tests will be rolled out at French airports from Monday including the Nice Côte d’Azur, which has seen passenger numbers plummet by two-thirds this year.
During a press conference this week, Franck Goldanel, the new chairman of the board of Aéroports de la Côte d´Azur (ACA) revealed that traffic is expected to be down 65% by the end of 2020 – from 14.5 million in 2019, to 5.5 million this year.
As a result of this unprecedented crisis, the planned extension of Terminal 2, which provides for an additional 25,000m2, has been postponed.
“Traffic will return to normal within three to four years, and the current crisis will give us time to work on the substance of this subject and our communication around the project,” said Mr Goldanel, without wanting to specify a new timetable.
Once completed, the extended Terminal 2 will allow the airport to accommodate up to 18 million passengers each year.
Meanwhile, France is to introduce rapid antigen Covid-19 tests at airports including Nice Côte d’Azur from next Monday, the country’s transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari has announced.
“We are going to launch the tests in airports, especially on departure to destinations such as the United States or Italy, and for arrivals from countries in the high risk zones, so that we no longer have people returning from these countries to French territory without being tested,” he told the French news channel CNews.