Testing costs can be up five times the cost of a flight
Today, the All Party-Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation has released research that shows that the cost of testing for vaccinated people can be as high as five times the cost of a return flight.
The research which looks at the costs of return flights to twenty amber and green list countries between 24th August and 4th September which shows that the cost of testing is:
· More than five times the cost of a flight from Exeter Airport to Alicante
· More than five times the cost of a flight from East Midlands Airport to Barcelona
· Two and a half times the cost of a flight from Bristol Airport to Palma
· Almost four times the cost of a flight from London Stansted to Madrid
· Over three times the cost of a flight from London Stansted to Berlin
The flight prices were found on Skyscanner on Friday 6th August and the average cost of testing was taken from the Government testing website.
Commenting Henry Smith MP, Chair of the APPG for the Future of Aviation Group said:
“These figures demonstrate that testing for international travel has become little more than a tax on travel adding a huge disincentive to travel putting a massive brake on our aviation, travel, and tourism industry’s ability to recover from the pandemic.
“When the cost of testing can be more than the price of a ticket, it is clear that the current system is not fit for purpose and needs urgent reform to stop the rip off fees we are currently seeing. The Government must act now by simplifying testing by moving to lateral flow as the default test for low-risk countries supported by PCR testing only where required. Alongside this, they must urgently consider a cap on the total cost of testing and prevent the free for all we are currently seeing which is leading to rip off prices.
“Without serious reform testing runs the risk of not only putting off travellers but holding back our aviation industry’s recovery from the pandemic. It is high time that the Government got to grips with this issue and ended this unnecessary and damaging tax on travel.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/15826218/pcr-tests-cost-prices-reduced/
