GR’s Ford Airport To Offer COVID Testing

It's the sign of future things to come, a travel test for the coronavirus. If only it cost less than the flight.

Grand Rapids' Ford International Airport will offer a thirty minute coronavirus test, available without an appointment, just in time for the spring travel season.

A negative test may become mandatory for travel, especially international, as we move forward through the pandemic as increasing vaccinations start bringing the infection rate down.

The test will be available to everyone, not just travelers, and will yield results in about 30 minutes, but it comes with a hefty price tag: $275 a pop. Which is more than some flights flying out of GRR.

The airport has had over 4500 travelers tested since offering them starting late last year. The newer quicker tests just began, so there's no data on numbers yet.

“We are gratified to be able to expand this much-needed service to our community," Stephen Clark, director of commercial development for the airport authority told the Detroit Free Press. "Since we opened this site in mid-December, we have had overwhelming demand."