Originally Posted by
mediamonkey
BBC are reporting both are fine. Not quite sure of the science of it if you’re taking a test before you board then another test as you land. Seems very money grabbing. Currently in Budapest flying back Tuesday so going to have to try find an acceptable test here.
It's not without some science logic. A lateral flow test is
really good at testing whether you're infected
and likely to pass the infection on to someone else during the flight - although it's better to take the test close to the flight to improve confidence. That's why there are cases where a lateral flow test is required within 24 rather than 48 hours of a flight.
A PCR test is very much more sensitive and will detect that you're infected even if you aren't contagious. A lot more people would be prevented from flying if a PCR test was mandated before a flight, even though the risk of them infecting others was neglible because the level of infection was too low. If you want to manage the risk of flying without restricting it completely, permitting a lateral flow test before and requiring a PCR test after seems to me a good balance.