Wish you were here in Greece? It’ll cost you up to £2,400 in PCR tests that the French get for NOTHING
- Former BA boss Willie Walsh said the Government should provide PCR tests for free, and blasted firms that have been profiteering from the health crisis
- Current rules state UK travellers to amber countries should take four PCR tests
- Average price of £150 per test would cost £2,400 for a family of four’s trip
The Government last night faced growing calls to curb the cost of rip-off PCR tests for travellers to amber-list countries.
Former BA boss Willie Walsh said the Government should provide PCR tests for free, and blasted firms that have been profiteering from the health crisis.
‘The tests are being mandated for health reasons, therefore they should be provided free of charge by the health authorities,’ he said.
Current rules state that UK travellers to amber countries should take four tests.
Based on the average price of £150 per test, this adds £2,400 to the cost of a trip for a family of four.
Former BA boss Willie Walsh (above) said the Government should provide PCR tests for free, and blasted firms that have been profiteering from the health crisis
By contrast, French citizens get free PCR tests, paid for by the French government, which is extending free tests to overseas visitors this summer.
The Mail on Sunday was told this weekend that the Greek island of Sifnos is ‘flooded’ with French tourists because they don’t have to pay for testing.
Mr Walsh said: ‘The idea that people should have to pay for these tests is wrong.’
He added that he has taken ten PCR tests in the past ten months and the average cost has been £120.
But seven private clinics on the Government’s list of 322 testing providers are charging over £300.
Mail on Sunday has learned this weekend that the Greek island of Sifnos (pictured) is ‘flooded’ with French tourists because they don’t have to pay for testing
Current rules state that UK travellers to amber countries should take four tests. Based on the average price of £150 per test, this adds £2,400 to the cost of a trip for a family of four
The most expensive clinic says on its website that its prices for amber-list tests on day two and eight of quarantine ‘start at £399’, although that does include a home visit if required.
Mr Walsh accused firms of ‘price gouging’. He said: ‘All you have to look at is the number of people who have gone into the PCR testing business in the last few months.
‘It’s clear that people see this as an opportunity to profit from a health crisis.’
He also criticised the Government for charging VAT on PCR tests.
He said: ‘We have been very critical where governments are forcing people to take these tests and then they are charging VAT.’