Glasgow airport car park to be transformed into drive through coronavirus testing site

A Glasgow Airport long stay car park is to be transformed into a drive-through coronavirus testing site for NHS staff.

The 17-acre car park will be converted on Sunday 5th April. Picture: Glasgow Airport

The facility will open in the long-stay car park on Abbotsinch Road and will be used to test frontline NHS staff only at this stage and will not be open to the public.

The 17-acre site is part of a series of measures being introduced to increase testing and response to the spread of COVID-19.

Due to be in operation from the afternoon on Sunday 5 April, 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 Monday.

The long stay car park will be transformed into a 17-acre testing site. Picture: TSPL

Mark Johnston, Glasgow Airport’s managing director, said that the airport is in regular contact with both the UK and Scottish Governments and have offered their facilities available to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said: “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 stated that the new testing centre, which is funded by the UK Government, will keep frontline NHS staff doing the jobs they are trained to do and allow those who do not have the disease to go back to work and treat those who are most in need of care, he said: “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.”

The news comes as the Glasgow and the wider AGS Airports Ltd group announced it would be donating the sum of £40,000 to homeless charity Simon Community Scotland’s #GiveHope appeal. The funding will be used to support the purchase of hotel accommodation for people who are homeless where they will be able to stay in single rooms, allowing them to self-isolate if necessary whilst accessing the range of services offered by the Simon Community.

For the latest guidance on COVID-19 visit: www.nhsinform.scot