PCR test before travel to Fue

[GSDGirl]

Thanks for that Tom but the problem we have with that is it’s on line and as we are flying on Wednesday we would have to send the test off on Sunday to ensure we had results back by Wednesday. This gives us two problems. Because of our remote location reliable couriers appear to be non existent and there is no postal service on Sunday so we wouldn’t be able to do the test until Monday which is cutting it too fine. Also we really don’t want to travel to Bristol and stay overnight, which is what we have to do because of very early flight, only to find out that the certificate hasn’t arrived or we didn’t test clear. I wondered how other people are getting round this situation. Lloyds do online tests to but no turnaround guarantee.

[Ducks]

Really sorry you're in this boat, GSDGirl. I think a lot of people are going to struggle with this, because you're paying a fortune for a test which might not even come back in time and could scupper the cost of your holiday if it doesn't! Or if it does come back, but is positive or "inconclusive"... Craziness. Especially as there is nothing to say you didn't pick it up in the 70 hours after taking the damn test.

They've shot themselves in the foot with this when it comes to tourism. Very few people are going to want to book a holiday when they have to pay £200-500 extra for a test that might cost them the trip itself if they come back unfavourable or too slowly.

[GSDGirl]

Ducks, you're right, it is craziness but it seems immaterial anyway now as we aren't going to be able to travel to England. So the nice quiet Christmas walking holiday we have been looking forward to all year is 'all down the pan' 

[Fabian]

Very few people are going to want to book a holiday when they have to pay £200-500 extra for a test that might cost them the trip itself if they come back unfavourable or too slowly.

What a rip-off.

Here in Germany there is a test center at the Frankfurt Airport. You can choose between three kinds of SARS-CoV-2 PCR-Tests. Depending on which one you choose, you get back the results within 24hours (59€), 12hours (79€) or 6 hours (139€). They charge another 9€ for the identity verification.
So even if you need your test results within only 6 hours, you are paying no more than 148€, which equals approximately 130£ (including the identity verification).


@GSDGirl I am very sorry for you. I hope that you will still be able to spend some nice christmas days at home.

[Ducks]

Here in Germany there is a test center at the Frankfurt Airport. You can choose between three kinds of SARS-CoV-2 PCR-Tests. Depending on which one you choose, you get back the results within 24hours (59€), 12hours (79€) or 6 hours (139€). They charge another 9€ for the identity verification.
So even if you need your test results within only 6 hours, you are paying no more than 148€, which equals approximately 130£ (including the identity verification).

Dublin Airport is getting a 24h €99 PCR test, or €129 via drive-though. It does mean going to the airport twice in two days, but it's better than nothing. (There is a 5h test, but it's not PCR which means it's no good for Spain, and it's €149.) That said, I don't know if any of them are guaranteed to be back in the specified timeframe. I'm sure they have a disclaimer that means they can't be held responsible if your results don't come back and you have to miss your flight. So you're still taking a risk.

I assume the UK airports will get on board with airport testing soon, though it still won't be of massive help to those who live far away from them. The prospect of having to stay overnight in a hotel which increases your risk of catching the virus just so you can get a test that says you don't have the virus when you tested before staying in the hotel is some Faulty Towers nonsense. Travel is going to be an even uglier business than usual for the next six to twelve months, unfortunately— I'm just hoping that when all this is over, it will be able to go back to normal. The post-9/11 restrictions are still with us twenty years later. I don't want to be worrying about testing for COVID in 2024.

[jimbews]

It has just been announced that ExpressTest PCR tests are available for £80 for passengers at Edinburgh Airport:

Edinburgh ExpressTest

"Passengers and staff at Edinburgh Airport will be charged at a subsidised rate of £80 and £60 respectively, whilst it will also be available for the general public for £99.  A group discount is also offered, with up to 30% off for groups of four or more, however participants need to ensure they are adhering to government guidelines when they arrive for their screening.

Airline passengers are advised to schedule a test 48-96 hours prior to their departure time, as a precaution.  

Those who screen negative will be emailed a Fit to Fly certificate that is authorised by a doctor, along with their test result, however passengers are encouraged to check with their travel provider as to whether this document is accepted before booking the screening service."

Obviously the maximum time in advance for Fuerteventura passengers would be 72 hours (minus flight time??).

[Robbo]

Well, that's not many at all - and with the apparently rigid 72 hour rule, just logistically that's going to put huge numbers of people off. 

Hello foot, let me shoot you...

[Haribo]

Well there’s not one near me so that’s no good. I agree with all the ‘we are not responsible for guaranteeing the result in 48 hrs’ etc etc too much risk a big shot in the foot. I still can’t see a family paying between £500 and £1000 for a test that might not arrive also could produce a positive test and then not getting the holiday they have paid for and no refund either.

[Robbo]

So Janet Anscomb's blog was updated yesterday on the 'approved' test sites that the CI government released:

Updated 26 November: The list I posted yesterday is not a list of centres that MUST be used, with no other centres allowed. It is just a list of those that CAN be used if people can’t find one! Clearly, needing “clarity” about the already perfectly clear, or seeing “utter confusion” wherever one looks, has become a national hobby or psychosis in the UK, but the list produced by the Canarian Government is a list of any centres that produce official certificates and which can be used but do not have to be used.

People have been saying they can’t find centres to produce the requisite certs – within 72 hours, with passport numbers on, or that would test very small children – and they are also complaining, absolutely bitterly, that the British Government is not helping in the least. The Canarian Government has tried to assist by producing this list. They, like I, are probably wishing they had never bothered.

Putting aside the jibe at people just wanting to know where they stand, other sites and providers are out there. However, if we take for example the new test site opening at Gatwick from next week, in their blurb they are careful not to say that their test can be guaranteed as an entry requirement - that would be up to the destination.

So people could still be caught out... 

[Bertie]

This facility sounded like great news for us as there are no PCR testing sites anywhere near where we live.
Planned to travel up to Gatwick approx 48 hrs before flight by taxi, have a test and stay in a hotel for
a couple of nights awaiting results.  Phoned the testing site this morning only to be told there are no test facilities for
foot passengers (which we will be) only testing in cars, drive through.  Happy days.  Back to the drawing board.