![]() ![]() “If we see high volumes we will get economies of scale and can look at reducing the price. Evans said “I certainly don’t look at our forecasts and think we’re profiteering, far from that. They said significant overheads included trained medical staff, courier fees, hiring a testing venue, as well as clinical oversight, medical risk assessments, and large insurance premiums.ĭavid Evans is joint chief executive of Collinson, which runs testing facilities at Heathrow and other major airports. However, Covid testing firms said that more than half of their price went to the laboratories, and cited high costs and uncertainty in the market. A summer holiday will be out of reach for many and damage an already badly hit aviation and travel industry even further.” Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association said: “The cost of testing could act as a significant barrier to the meaningful restart to aviation and should not be underestimated. ![]() Under the rules set out for travel in May, the cost per person to travel to a green-listed European destination could be £306 in testing alone: comprising a UK pre-departure test, a second abroad at the end of a holiday, and a final test in the UK on return. Government subsidies in those countries and rules capping prices have contributed to the lower prices. The average costs of a PCR test across Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, was just £62 they said. While the cheapest UK pre-departure PCR tests are available for £60 – at a subsidised price for passengers at Gatwick airport – most travelers are being charged an average of £128 for a pre-departure test, more than double the price for much of Europe, according to research from the travel association Abta and the Airport Operators Association. I’ll be driving that down … and potentially even removing providers if they’re not playing ball, because I don’t want to see people being ripped off.” Shapps told Sky News: “I think that the cost should be cheaper for those private tests. He threatened to remove high-charging firms from the government-approved list. Industry sources said there was suspicion of “profiteering” by testing firms – a term echoed by transport secretary Grant Shapps. ![]()
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