Jesus I've just watched that news report she shared on her story...
Firstly I wonder if Thomas removed Aer Lingus from his bio as he was attending this rally and didn't want his employer to be linked to him? Bit late for that if that's the case...
Secondly I'm shocked and disgusted at the comments made by a supposed former cardiac surgeon... Yes lateral flow tests (rapid antigen) are great in some cases, they've been invaluable in so many places to keep schools and hospitals moving. But I feel aviation is the one sector where they should solely use PCR, as lateral flow can miss small viral loads at the beginning of an infection. We also don't know if in the future some variants could evade this method of testing. PCR is also vital to keep track of any new variants being imported into the country as you can't sequence from a lateral flow. I work in a PCR lab and I know that we can turnaround tests in a few hours now, not like the original 24-48 hours at the beginning of a pandemic. So someone could easily get a PCR on the day of their flight if they fly late, and it's not a huge hindrance on their day.
Just to make it clear, I'm not against lateral flows at all, I know of many people who have had true positives from them, I just think they don't have a place in aviation at this moment in time.