TORONTO — The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Switch Health say they’re bringing COVID-19 testing services to Toronto Pearson Airport.

The tests, which will be conducted by Switch Health, are an important protective layer in Pearson’s Healthy Airport program and are available to both departing passengers and members of the community who are not travelling but need access to testing services.

Arrivals testing continues to be required and conducted by Switch Health in partnership with the government of Canada for international arriving passengers.

In collaboration with the GTAA Healthy Airport program, Switch Health will sell COVID-19 testing services to all consumers at a new on-airport clinic located in Value Park Garage (VPG), open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Consumers and passengers can book tests in advance via Switch Health’s booking portal: switchhealth.ca/healthyairport

Gold standard RT-PCR COVID-19 tests will be available either through expedited 3-6 hour or standard 12-24 hour turnaround times and rapid antigen tests will be available with results in under 30 minutes.

Pre-departure tests are currently required for entry into the U.S. and the UK, as well as most other countries around the world, notes the GTAA.

The service has been available since July 12, 2021. Tests will be available through Switch Health in a traditional clinic setting on Level 3 of the VPG, as well as by drive-through on Level 1 of the VPG.

“As we work towards global pandemic recovery, it is critically important that airports provide services that enable safe, responsible travel,” said Dwayne MacIntosh, Director, Corporate Safety & Security Governance, GTAA. “We undertook a significant piece of research, funded by the Government of Canada, to show that this kind of testing could be successfully operationalized in a high-throughput airport.”