Zurich airport extends Covid-19 testing services 

Zurich airport's Covid-19 screening centre is extending its hours and services from March 1. Keystone / Ennio Leanza

Passengers departing from Zurich airport will have access to Covid-19 antigen tests as well as swab (PCR) tests, as of March 1. 

The testing centre in the airport will also be open from 4am to 8pm compared with 6am to 8pm at present, airport handling firm Swissport announced in a press release on Friday. The airport’s testing centre is located in the former Cards and ID Office in Check-in 2 on Level 1. 

At CHF80 ($88), Swissport said the antigen test will be cheaper than the PCR test, which costs CHF195, and the results will be available in 15-20 minutes. This is considerably faster than the PCR test, which has to be sent to an external laboratory. 

The airport screening service is offered by Swissport subsidiary Checkport and Swiss start-up Ender Diagnostics. It is intended exclusively for symptom-free people who need a negative test in order to travel.  

The pandemic reduced air passenger numbers travelling in and out of Switzerland from 42 million in 2019 to 16.5 million last year – a fall of 72%. Many countries now require a negative coronavirus test and travellers arriving in Switzerland have also had to show a clean bill of health since 8 February.