Tests for travel cost five times the price of return flights to Europe, study finds

Covid testing can cost up to five times the price of return flights to Europe, according to new research.

The study, conducted by the All Party-Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation, looked into the costs of return flights to 20 amber and green list countries between 24 August and 4 September.

Comparing those prices with the average cost of a single Covid-19 PCR test, MPs found that Covid testing is more than five times as expensive as return flights from Exeter Airport to Alicante, and from East Midlands airport to Barcelona.

Ryanair was offering fares of £18 on both routes, while the average cost of a government-approved PCR test is £93.

The testing costs considered by MPs did not include the pre-departure test mandatory for all passengers embarking on flights to the UK, nor the additional test on day eight necessary for unvaccinated travellers returning from amber list countries.

The total cost of Covid testing is therefore likely to be higher than that published in the Future of Aviation study.

Henry Smith MP, chair of 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.”

He called on the government to shift to lateral flow tests as the default for travellers returning from low-risk countries, with PCR testing used only following a positive test.

PCR tests are currently the only ones accepted upon return to the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended their continued use during a visit to Scotland last week, insisting that current levels of testing were “sensible” and urging the public to be patient.

Mr Smith also wants the government to cap the total cost of testing in order to “prevent the free-for-all we are currently seeing which is leading to rip off prices”.

PCR test providers on the government’s website are charging as much as £399 per test, with more moderately advertised prices often going up once customers click through to book.

Mr Smith went on: “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.”

The release of this research follows news earlier in the week that health secretary Sajid Javid has asked the Competition and Markets Authority watchdog to look into whether travellers are being ripped off by testing providers.

Avi Lasarow of Project Screen by Prenetics, one of the government’s approved providers of Covid-19 travel tests, said: “We back the government’s decision to refer the issue of PCR testing to the Competition and Markets Authority.

“Companies on the government list must be responsible in their pricing strategies.

“The list has been exploited by some testing providers luring in consumers with misleading prices and then offering tests that are up to nine times more expensive and poor service.”

He called for the government to cut VAT on travel Covid-19 tests, pointing out that if the tax were removed, a family of four flying from London to Majorca could save £166.