Uk's High Price of PCR Tests UnCovered.

The average cost of PCR Covid-19 tests in the UK is more than double the price charged in other European countries at £128 per person, according to research.

PCR tests are set to play a key role in the planned restart of international travel from 17 May, as laid out on Friday (9 April) by the government’s Global Travel Taskforce, with travellers required to take these tests after returning from even the lowest risk “green” countries under the planned new traffic light system.

But research by Abta and the Airport Operators Association found that PCR costs in the UK cost an average of £128 per person compared with an average of just £62pp across eight key European destinations.

 

The high costs of PCR tests are seen as a potential deterrent to holidaymakers booking international trips this summer, particularly for families and short-haul travel.

 

Mark Tanzer, Abta’s chief executive, said: “Travel to the lower risk, green categorised countries should be as unrestricted as possible. The requirement for a PCR test when you arrive back from a green list country could prove a cost-barrier for many people – we welcome the fact that the government commits to engaging with industry on this issue.

 

“Small changes, like requiring a PCR test only if the individual gets a positive result from a lateral flow test, would make international travel more accessible and affordable whilst still providing effective mitigation against re-importation of the virus.

 

“The government should also consider whether those who have been vaccinated can be exempt from testing requirements, should scientific evidence suggest reduced transmissibility.”

The UK government has now pledged to work to bring down the cost of Covid testing for leisure travellers ahead of the resumption of international travel this summer.

 

Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, added: “The cost of testing could act as a significant barrier to the meaningful restart to aviation and should not be underestimated.

 

“With UK pre-departure and post-arrival tests costing around double the average in countries like Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, UK travellers are penalised for wanting to travel from the UK.

 

“Without a cost-effective solution like this, a summer holiday will be out of reach for many and damage an already badly hit aviation and travel industry even further.”

 

The government has set March 17 as the earliest date from which international travel could resume.

Courts referred to travel restarting “at some point after May 17”. Asked by the committee to explain, he said: “I understand the requirement for as much certainty as possible. At this stage, it would be premature to be too precise. We do need to work through some really quite complicated issues.

“We have said there won’t be any travel before May 17 and we’ll look at travel restarting as soon as possible after that.”

He insisted: “We don’t yet understand the extent to which vaccinations reduce transmission and every country will need to be happy with any system used.

“The second point is new variants. We have to guard against these. The science is still catching up.”

Courts argued: “We had the earlier Global Travel Taskforce but a number of things have changed. It’s critical we take stock and work closely with all our sector colleagues to make progress.

“All you are hearing from other countries is an intention to do something.”

He told MPs: “We’re looking at a suite of factors, building on the suite of measures already in place. We would like to see travel facilitated in a way that is smoother, in a way that uses technology. I expect to see a suite of measures.”

Asked whether people can be confident to book summer holidays, Courts said: “We’ve seen this is an unpredictable virus. It is not possible to predict. It isn’t possible to tell individuals or families what to do.

“I suggest what people have to do is give themselves options, give themselves flexibility, look at booking terms, look at insurance.”

He confirmed the task force report would go to the Prime Minister for consideration before its recommendations are made public.

Courts said: “We will be laying out a plan in April and then looking to operationalize that. April 12 will be the date we report back to the Prime Minister. We then have a process of looking at the recommendations.”

He argued: “The date we should be concerned about is the date people are due to travel.

“The evidence looks promising but we want to make sure what is in place is sustainable. We have to be slightly cautious at the moment. This has to be robust.”

P&O Cruises and Cunard have “temporarily” stopped selling cruises

P&O Cruises and Cunard have “temporarily” stopped selling cruises due to depart before 21 June as the lines look to the government for greater clarity on when travel will be allowed to restart.

The date was laid out by prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday (22 February) as a potential milestone for when all Covid restrictions in England could be lifted.

 

Johnson said a relaunched Global Travel Taskforce would examine how and when international travel could be restarted through a newly commissioned report, due on 12 April – with travel not currently slated to resume until at least 17 May.

 

In a statement released on Friday (26 February), P&O and Cunard said sales for itineraries before 21 June had been halted as the lines “await more clarity on likely dates for domestic and international cruising”.

 

The brands said they were seeking “additional clarification to fully understand the requirements” announced by the prime minister earlier this week.

 

“These cruises have not been cancelled and there is no action required from any guests booked on these cruises,” a spokesperson said.

 

“Should it be necessary to extend our pause and cancel any more cruise dates then we will advise our guests as soon as possible.”

Government commits to testing ‘to open up international travel’

The launch of a Global Travel Taskforce ‘to open up international travel and boost our business’ has been confirmed.

It will consider how a testing regime for international arrivals could be implemented to boost safe travel to and from the UK, what steps can be taken to facilitate business and leisure travel through testing and non-testing means and how to increase consumer confidence to support the recovery of international travel.

The current rules around the 14-day self-isolation policy remain in place.

The task force was launched in collaboration between the Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care which said they have been working with clinicians, health experts and the private testing sector on the practicalities of testing international arrivals.

They said the next step is to develop an “operationalised approach” to “work at pace with industry on implementation” of testing and to “identify options to reduce the self-isolation period while protecting public health”.

The task force will look at the feasibility of a single test taken after a period of self-isolation, provided by the private sector and at the cost of the passenger.

It will work with medical experts to better understand when a test should be taken based on the progression of the disease and with the private sector to ensure testing for international arrivals does not impact on NHS capacity.

Alternative testing models, including pilots with partner countries to determine whether self-isolation could be undertaken pre-departure, will also be explored.

The taskforce will be jointly chaired by the secretary of state for health, Matt Hancock, and transport secretary Grant Shapps, who first made the announcement via Twitter after a series of newspapers carried the story on Wednesday morning.

In the official announcement, Shapps said: “The current measures at the border have saved lives. Our understanding of the science now means we can intensify efforts to develop options for a testing regime and help reinvigorate our world-leading travel sector.

“This new task force will not only help us move towards safer, smoother international travel as we continue to battle this virus but will also support global connectivity – helping facilitate more covid secure travel whilst protecting the population from imported cases.”

On Twitter, he said: “Following agreement from medical experts, we are moving ahead with the next step to reduce the travel quarantine period by launching the Global Travel Taskforce to open up international travel & boost our businesses.

“The task force will implement a testing regime to reduce the self-isolation period, along with a wide range of other measures to enable travel whilst keeping coronavirus rates down.”

Hancock added: “It is vital we do everything we can to control the spread of the virus and our measures at the borders are designed to help keep the country safe, by preventing imported cases of Covid-19.

“We know how these measures have a significant impact on people’s lives and on the travel and tourism industries, so we are working hard across government to explore ways to open up international travel in a safe way.”

As previously reported, the task force is expected to put forward its initial recommendations next month.