Holidaymakers will be offered cheap £ 20 Covid tests – what we know so far Bedford News

Vacationers will be offered Covid tests for a fraction of Tui’s standard price.

The UK’s largest holiday company has said it will offer testing for as little as £ 20 to ‘make travel a possibility’ this summer.

The cheapest package will consist of a lateral flow test and a PCR test – a requirement for travelers returning to or visiting England from destinations on the government’s ‘green list’.

Those who pay £ 50 for a package will receive an additional PCR test, necessary for people coming from an Amber List country.

PCR tests typically cost £ 120 each, although other travel companies sell them for £ 60.

Tui said he was “subsidizing the cost of testing to help customers travel again this summer.”

There have been concerns that testing requirements could make summer vacations too expensive for many people, adding hundreds of pounds to the overall cost of a trip.

The green, orange and red lists, based on a coronavirus risk assessment, are expected to be released by the Department of Transport on Friday.

International leisure travel should be allowed to resume for people in England from May 17.

No date has been set by the decentralized administrations of the United Kingdom.

Tui has partnered with Norwich-based testing company Chronomics to deliver the packages.

Andrew Flintham, Managing Director of Tui UK & Ireland, said: “We have always believed that cost-effective testing solutions, along with maximum flexibility, will make travel possible this summer and beyond.

“Our research showed that customers eagerly await their much-needed vacation abroad, but affordable and easy testing solutions were imperative to make it a reality.

“The four new exclusive test packages have been developed with our customers in mind; they are offered at greatly reduced prices, include certification to travel and will be a simple process from start to finish. “

Rory Boland, editor-in-chief of Which? Travel said, “Tui launching an affordable test package for vacations in Green List countries is great news – but only for Tui customers.

“Other large vacation companies that can afford to subsidize the costs of testing may follow suit, but medium and small travel companies may find it difficult to compete, and vacationers may therefore have fewer choices.

“People shouldn’t have to shop around for mandatory testing if they want to travel, or be pressured into knowing who to book with based on a limited supply of cheap tests.

“The government must focus on reducing the cost of testing at all levels, rather than leaving consumers to rely on a system that is currently fragmented and broken.”