UK sets plan for travel return with costly test requirements

Bloomberg

The UK said it will decide by early next month whether Britons can resume taking international holidays on May 17, while implementing coronavirus testing rules that airlines criticised as too costly.
Countries will be rated according to their Covid-19 risk in a traffic light system, the Department for Transport said. At a minimum, travellers will need to buy a two-test package, including a so-called PCR assessment, that typically costs around 220 pounds ($300) per person and can range much higher.
“The framework will help allow us to reopen travel safely and sustainably, ensure we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine roll-out and offer peace of mind to both passengers and industry,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
Airline groups welcomed the progress towards a travel restart after a year of Covid-19 restrictions that walloped the industry. Still, they criticised testing requirements they said would put family vacations out of reach for many. Tim Alderslade, chief executive officer of the industry body Airlines UK, called the proposals a “further setback for an industry on its knees.”
The UK’s fast vaccine rollout has driven down cases and given the travel industry its best shot at taking advantage of the summer high season.
But without a clear date to restart non-essential travel, airlines remain unable to confidently schedule flights, staff and aircraft requirements.
The government has said that May 17 is the earliest day foreign holidays can resume, but officials have warned that a further delay could be required if coronavirus infections continue to surge elsewhere in the world.
Different testing and quarantine regimes will be compulsory according to whether a destination is rated green, amber or red, the department said.
It’s still too early to say which nations will fall in each category, with a decision coming in early May on that matter and whether the May 17 target can be met.
Shapps defended the need for PCR tests that can identify Covid-19 variants and said he’ll look for ways to keep the costs down.
“I’m going to work with the travel industry and the private testing providers to drive down that cost,” he said in an interview on BBC Radio 4.
“I won’t spare those companies who seem to be profiteering, including potentially removing them from the recommended list.”
Under the new system British residents going on holiday abroad will be required to purchase Covid-19 testing packages and quarantine packages from approved providers, prior to departure, depending on the traffic light rating of their destination. Countries in the safest, “green” category that are in danger of being elevated to amber will be placed on a public watch list so that travellers have advanced warning of a possible change in rating and can plan accordingly.