You can now do a COVID-19 test at home before flying to Hawaii and select Caribbean destinations

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American Airlines is offering an optional at-home COVID-19 test service to passengers flying to Hawaii and select Caribbean destinations.

The airline will offer the service to passengers flying to Hawaii, Belize, Grenada and St Lucia from November 16. With the service, passengers will be sent a PCR testing kit to their home address. A medical professional will observe the test through an online video link and talk them through the steps. Once the test is completed, the passenger can send the sample to be processed at the FDA-approved LetsGetChecked lab, with results delivered to the person's phone within 48 hours of the sample being received.

Playa Asuncion street on Caye Caulker Island, Belize ©Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock

Currently, all four destinations require passengers to present a recent negative COVID-19 test result before entry. In the case of St Lucia, passengers must present their negative results before boarding their flight. Those who do not present a negative test will have to quarantine for two weeks when they arrive at their destination. The at-home test gives passengers the convenience of doing the test at home, rather than arriving at the airport early to do a pre-flight test.

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American Airlines is also expanding its preflight testing program in US airports. From this week, anyone traveling to Hawaii from Orlando, Los Angeles and Phoenix can get tested in the airport before flying to the Aloha State.

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Hiker standing at lookout towards Gros Piton, Belize ©Justin Foulkes/Lonely Planet

"Our initial preflight testing has performed remarkably well, including terrific customer feedback about the ease and availability of testing options," said Robert Isom, President of American Airlines. "This next phase is an invigorating step forward in American’s relentless pursuit of reopening international travel and driving industry recovery while delivering a safe and positive travel experience."

American isn't the only airline to expand its testing capacities in recent months. United announced it would launch a new pilot testing program from November, offering free COVID-19 tests to passengers and crew on board select flights from New York to London. Emirates now offers on-site rapid tests in Dubai Airport, Etihad Airways is including COVID-19 tests in all its tickets from Abu Dhabi, and Lufthansa is developing antigen tests to help restore passengers' confidence in flying.