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San Diego Airport rolls out on-site COVID-19 testing

Andrea M. Rotondo
Andrea M. Rotondo
Director of content operations
Andrea M. Rotondo, TPG's director of content operations, has traveled to 43 countries using points and miles. She's a luxury, small-ship cruise expert and can share the not-to-be-missed spots in her adopted home state of Florida. She will also talk all day long about her ancestral homeland: Italy.
Feb. 06, 2021
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2 min read
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San Diego Airport rolls out on-site COVID-19 testing
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Carbon Health, a major player in COVID-19 testing, will now extend its footprint to the San Diego International Airport (SAN). It's offering "travel clearance visits" that include a COVID-19 test that is sufficient for domestic travel. San Diego joins other West Coast airports such as Portland, San Jose and Los Angeles that all offer similar testing.

Airports in other destinations like Tampa are providing similar on-site testing, while Oakland International Airport is selling COVID-19 tests in vending machines.

According to Carbon Health, it's giving the nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) at San Diego Airport. It's an anterior nasal swab, which is more comfortable than the nasopharyngeal swab.

The company says the test is "currently configured to meet the state requirements of Alaska and Hawaii. We cannot guarantee our tests and result formats meeting international travel requirements."

Related: How rapid COVID-19 testing can help travelers

Passengers should get tested 72 hours before their flight. Book an appointment online and then bring your flight itinerary, which the technician will review. Once you are tested, the results will be available by 2 p.m. the next day. You'll get a text as soon as the results are ready. You'll then access the results via the company's website or app, where you can download a printable PDF to bring with you on your travels.

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Carbon Health can test anyone over 3 months old and it does so in the Valet lot at 2357 Air Lane Road from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

You'll pay $170 per person out-of-pocket for the test and Carbon Health doesn't accept insurance. But, the good news is that you can pay via your HSA or FSA card.

As time goes on, we hope to see more airport locations offering COVID-19 testing.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.