Research by ABTA and the Airport Operators
Association has revealed that the cost of PCR testing for international travel
in the UK is double that of testing in other European countries.
The organisations found that a UK pre-departure PCR
test costs on average £128 per person, while the average pre-departure test
cost across eight key destinations, including Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, only comes to just under £62.
Individuals travelling from the UK to a European
destination are expected to pay an average of £306 for testing, the organisations said. Travellers face a UK
pre-departure test, a pre-departure test in their destination country at the
end of their trip and a post-arrival test in the UK if they have flown to a
green country under the new traffic light system that will be used when
international travel from the UK restarts.
Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators
Association, said: “The cost of testing could act as a significant barrier to
the meaningful restart to aviation and should not be underestimated… With the
government offering free rapid tests domestically, it is vital that business
travellers can make use of these for green-listed countries upon their return.
The government should also work to reduce, if not eliminate, the cost for
pre-departure tests in the UK.”
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA, said: “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 an 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.”
IATA's director general Willie Walsh has also called on the UK government to slash
the cost of testing and has suggested that Covid tests be exempt from VAT.
“Differing VAT standards applied to
private and state-provided testing confuses both providers and travellers. Moreover, the government should not be taking a 20 per cent premium on what has
become an essential service. And VAT on testing is an unnecessary barrier to
the very travel that this initiative is trying to facilitate,” he said.
He added, “PCR testing is expensive, inconvenient
and in short supply in some destinations. Studies show that the best rapid
tests could deliver similar levels of accuracy and put the cost of travel
within the reach of many more people. And it has the potential to replace the
need for quarantine for amber countries.”
A clinical test provider said last week that replacing PCR tests with cheaper, rapid flow tests would be "frankly astonishing".