Originally Posted by
rampguy
I have to go to the UK (from the US) for 24 hours — can I simply get a covid test in the US pre-departure and use it for my US re-entry?
it kind of shows how stupid the rule is to begin with, because if I somehow get covid in the 24 hours it won’t even show up on an antigen test.
(and for what it’s worth, I’m vaccinated AND recovered from Covid in December, but that is too far out to have the “recovered from covid” clause apply — it’s 90 days)
Originally Posted by
steveholt
If you're flying to Heathrow, they have testing in each terminal you can do on arrival or even in the hours before your flight.
+1, I was just at LHR last week for a 50 hour trip (so had to get tested to return). Ended up using the testing facility in T2 Arrivals (T2 Departures acted like they couldn't do rapid antigen but T2 Arrivals on the lower level can?).
In my case I ended up flying home a day early (meetings ended early and was able to do an SDC on UA and keep my J seat so a no brainer) but hadn't done the test yet. Got to the airport about 3 hours before my flight and just booked the next available slot and showed up an hour early and they were easily able to accommodate me (note you have to make an appointment, you can't just show up without an appointment).
Quick nasal swap and document verification and then I was free to wait wherever. Took about 30-35 minutes to process and be uploaded to the portal at which point I was able to just show it on my phone at the UA check-in desk and proceed immediately to departures.
For the OP, would just book and go get the swab done on your way out of Heathrow (no need to stick around for the results you can leave and they will be emailed) and then can just use those results on the way back for departure. Just make sure the timestamp on the swab at arrivals is within T-24 of the departure time back to the US
Originally Posted by
fac383
Similarly holding off in the vain hope it would go away.
I've got plenty of free NHS tests and would test myself before heading to the airport but having to pay for an official test and fit it into my schedule and deal with extra paperwork is a pain.
We're doing 0945 LHR T3 - BUD on Tue 10th
then on Wed 11th doing 0720 BUD - LHR T3 (arr 0942) and 1250 LHR T5 - JFK
Am I right in thinking a £35 ExpressTest Lateral Flow on the T3 forecourt around 0700 on Tue 10th before heading to BUD will do the job for the US flight the following afternoon?
Has anyone used this site without prebooking? Slots from 0600 appear to be wide open.
£35 ExpressTest Lateral Flow will suffice for a US flight. This is the test I took from T2 referenced above but the timestamp has to be within T-24 of your US flight (not when you start your journey on the itinerary but the US flight itself) so 0700 on Tuesday 10th won't qualify since you'll be outside that window for a 1250 LHR - JFK departure the next day.
As for the pre-booking deal, all the signage and the check-in person at T2 were adamant that you needed to be pre-booked and have the QR code for them to scan. That said I was able to get in earlier that my actual booking time which was helpful since I had changed flights last minute and showed up at the airport just 3 hours before departure.