Pre Departure Covid-19 testing

Even for people who are fully vaccinated, some countries still require a negative PCR covid-19 test performed within 72 hours of arrival.

Thankfully the £160 prices that were normal for the past year are finally coming down.

And airlines are now arranging discounts for customers in a bid to increase passenger numbers.

British Airways for example has a list of 11 companies that will provide you with various different tests, and packages.

I'm particularly interested in pre departure PCR tests - so I went through the 10 companies comparing prices for this particular test (ignoring Chronomics who don't offer this test)

First in the BA list is CityDoc who charge £125 for a central London in person test

Then there's Collinson who charge £82.50 for in person tests - available at multiple airport locations and a site at The O2 Arena in London

Eurofins offer a home testing kit for a very attractive £40.42 - and they have a number of drop off points around the country, which would remove Royal Mail from the equation. They promise to give you a result with 24 hours of them receiving your sample.

Update 6th June 2021: Eurofins currently does NOT have any tests in stock

Update 12th June 2021: Eurofins failed to despatch my order on time - I do not recommend using them

Express Test charge £59 for various airport testing sites, and have higher fees for some city centre locations

Halo's home test kit is £74.76

LetsGetChecked also provide a home test kit for a slightly cheaper £69.30

Medicspot have a higher £84.15 fee for a home test kit

It looks like Qured charge the same £84.15 for a home test kit, but the final price is only available if you go through the full registration process (which I didn't)

Randox have recently reduced the price of their home test kit (previously £60) down to a more competitive £43 net of BA discount  Updated 12th June

BA have added Wren Healthcare which offers £139 tests at 10 clinic sites and £169 tests in your own home  Updated 3rd June 2021

These prices are specifically for British Airways customers - but I'm not sure how much validation they all do.

I like the sound of Eurofins £40.42 fee, and being able to deliver my sample directly into their own drop box.