As part of supporting the government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Glasgow Airport’s Long-stay Car Park has been transformed into a drive-thru mobile testing facility for front line NHS staff.
The Glasgow Airport-based facility is being introduced to test frontline NHS staff only at this stage. The 17-acre car park site is located on Abbotsinch Road, and became operational as a facility on Sunday April 5. The new testing centre will have up to five lanes and provide capacity for a greater number of COVID-19 tests each day. It will operate between 10am and 4:30pm from today.
Mark Johnston, Glasgow Airport’s managing director, said: ‘We are in regular contact with both the UK and Scottish Governments and have offered our facilities available to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Glasgow Airport has the space and infrastructure capable of accommodating a large-scale testing area and we are only too happy to support in this way. The impact of this virus affects us all and Glasgow Airport, the wider AGS Airports Ltd group and our people will continue to support the national effort to overcome COVID-19 and stand ready to help in any way we can.’
Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland said: ‘This new testing centre at Glasgow Airport, funded by the UK Government, will keep our frontline NHS staff doing the jobs they are trained to do. Allowing those who do not have the disease to go back to work and treat those who are most in need of care.
‘This is part of the UK government’s plan to vastly expand our testing capacity as we continue to work around the clock and across the country to protect the vulnerable, support the NHS, and save lives.’
Last week, Glasgow and the wider AGS Airports Ltd group donated GBP40,000 to homeless charity Simon Community Scotland’s #GiveHope appeal. The funding will support the purchase of hotel accommodation for people who are homeless, allowing them to self-isolate if necessary whilst accessing services offered by the Simon Community.
