Jan 14, 2021, 12:56 pm
Last edit by: KARFA
Below is a synopsis of the new mandatory pre-travel COVID testing requirements for those intending to travel to (or return to) England on or after 04:00 hours on 18 January 2021.
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Pre-Departure Testing and Operator Liability) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/.../contents/made
Coming in to force at 0400 on 15 January, requirements actually apply from 0400 on 18 January 2021
Review if the requirements at least once every 28 days, and first review due 8 February 2021
This is the law for England only, separate law for Scotland, Wales, and NI will be published in due course
Basic rules
- Applies to any person who arrives in England having begun the journey outside the CTA
- Must have on arrival a valid notification of a negative result
- Not required for children under 11
- Not required for certain people. diplomats, Crown servants, government officials, seamen, airline crew, channel tunnel workers, road haulage workers, aviation inspectors, and medical human cell/blood transporters
- Also some reasonable excuses not to have a test result, these include medically unfit to do the test (proof required), disabled to the extent they can't do a test, require urgent medical treatment, someone accompanying any of these people for support, where no test was available to the public at the origin and any transit points
- No explicit list of countries where test is not required due to lack of infrastructure
- No mention of transit, but the wording is the same as for requirement to do a PLF, so "a person who arrives in England from outside the common travel area" and a PLF is required for all transit passengers even when staying airside
Test
- Has to be a test having a sensitivity of at least 80%, a specificity of at least 97%, and a limit of detection of less than or equal to 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 copies per millilitre
- Explicitly cannot be a NHS test
- Test sample was taken no more than 3 days before the scheduled departure to England of the commercial service - no mention of whether this means origin or last connection point
- Notification of the result must include the name of the person from whom the sample was taken, date of birth or age, the negative result of the test, the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider, the name of the test provider with contact details, the name of the device that was used for the test. This information must be in English, French, or Spanish.
Operator liability
- Must ensure passengers have completed a PLF & has a negative result when that passenger arrives at immigration in England
- So conclusion would be an operator is not going to let you board if they don't believe you have both, or you can't show you are exempt
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Pre-Departure Testing and Operator Liability) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/.../contents/made
Coming in to force at 0400 on 15 January, requirements actually apply from 0400 on 18 January 2021
Review if the requirements at least once every 28 days, and first review due 8 February 2021
This is the law for England only, separate law for Scotland, Wales, and NI will be published in due course
Basic rules
- Applies to any person who arrives in England having begun the journey outside the CTA
- Must have on arrival a valid notification of a negative result
- Not required for children under 11
- Not required for certain people. diplomats, Crown servants, government officials, seamen, airline crew, channel tunnel workers, road haulage workers, aviation inspectors, and medical human cell/blood transporters
- Also some reasonable excuses not to have a test result, these include medically unfit to do the test (proof required), disabled to the extent they can't do a test, require urgent medical treatment, someone accompanying any of these people for support, where no test was available to the public at the origin and any transit points
- No explicit list of countries where test is not required due to lack of infrastructure
- No mention of transit, but the wording is the same as for requirement to do a PLF, so "a person who arrives in England from outside the common travel area" and a PLF is required for all transit passengers even when staying airside
Test
- Has to be a test having a sensitivity of at least 80%, a specificity of at least 97%, and a limit of detection of less than or equal to 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 copies per millilitre
- Explicitly cannot be a NHS test
- Test sample was taken no more than 3 days before the scheduled departure to England of the commercial service - no mention of whether this means origin or last connection point
- Notification of the result must include the name of the person from whom the sample was taken, date of birth or age, the negative result of the test, the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider, the name of the test provider with contact details, the name of the device that was used for the test. This information must be in English, French, or Spanish.
Operator liability
- Must ensure passengers have completed a PLF & has a negative result when that passenger arrives at immigration in England
- So conclusion would be an operator is not going to let you board if they don't believe you have both, or you can't show you are exempt
Negative Covid test required for everyone arriving into BA's UK mainland airports
Jan 8, 2021, 12:20 pm
#91
Join Date: May 2007
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Jan 8, 2021, 12:22 pm
#92
Join Date: Mar 2020
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Jan 8, 2021, 12:43 pm
#94
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Jan 8, 2021, 12:53 pm
#95
Join Date: May 2012
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http://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-i...enter-12181938
UK nationals not exempt as per earlier reports. No info as yet on when this comes into effect.
UK nationals not exempt as per earlier reports. No info as yet on when this comes into effect.
Food for thought, fellow Flyertalk-ers: I am intending to write to the Department for Transport and ask that they consider also mandating a test for all *departing* passengers before they leave the UK. (This is now in place for US-bound flights but it must be universal in that it applies to all destinations and not on a country-to-country basis.)
Jan 8, 2021, 1:05 pm
#96
Join Date: Apr 2014
Programs: BA Exec Club Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 214
Is there any guidance yet on the data required on the COVID test certificate ?
e.g. is passport number required ?
Here in Brazil it seems that they don't put passport number on test certificates.....
e.g. is passport number required ?
Here in Brazil it seems that they don't put passport number on test certificates.....
Jan 8, 2021, 1:07 pm
#97
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,439
This is a welcome development. It should have been implemented many months ago. Better late than never, though.
Food for thought, fellow Flyertalk-ers: I am intending to write to the Department for Transport and ask that they consider also mandating a test for all *departing* passengers before they leave the UK. (This is now in place for US-bound flights but it must be universal in that it applies to all destinations and not on a country-to-country basis.)
Food for thought, fellow Flyertalk-ers: I am intending to write to the Department for Transport and ask that they consider also mandating a test for all *departing* passengers before they leave the UK. (This is now in place for US-bound flights but it must be universal in that it applies to all destinations and not on a country-to-country basis.)
Jan 8, 2021, 1:08 pm
#98
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: DFW
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Posts: 3,097
Needs for overnight stay
Connecting at LHR overnight and staying at Sofitel. Does that also require a PCR test? if so, will they accept it in Russian language since in Moscow thats how you get it?
Jan 8, 2021, 2:16 pm
#100
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,426
This is a welcome development. It should have been implemented many months ago. Better late than never, though.
Food for thought, fellow Flyertalk-ers: I am intending to write to the Department for Transport and ask that they consider also mandating a test for all *departing* passengers before they leave the UK. (This is now in place for US-bound flights but it must be universal in that it applies to all destinations and not on a country-to-country basis.)
Food for thought, fellow Flyertalk-ers: I am intending to write to the Department for Transport and ask that they consider also mandating a test for all *departing* passengers before they leave the UK. (This is now in place for US-bound flights but it must be universal in that it applies to all destinations and not on a country-to-country basis.)
Jan 8, 2021, 2:33 pm
#101
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,369
What hasn’t been mentioned here is the fact that if you are tested positive you won’t be permitted to travel and will have to isolate for 2 weeks overseas let’s just hope people have the resources or travel insurance for this.
Totally kills the short break market
This is being implemented to stop ‘South African’ or other strains entering the UK and no other reason.
What we really need is test on arrival back into the UK for free with costs being born by airport or airline or cheap costs if passenger is to pay.
Totally kills the short break market
This is being implemented to stop ‘South African’ or other strains entering the UK and no other reason.
What we really need is test on arrival back into the UK for free with costs being born by airport or airline or cheap costs if passenger is to pay.
Jan 8, 2021, 3:21 pm
#102
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 610
It's certainly a step in the right direction but overall I think it's a drop in the ocean when it comes to "beating" COVID. I appreciate that we're all, to a greater or lesser degree, frequent fliers but the world outside of the airport / plane isn't particularly nice at the moment.
Looking at this article from the LA Times: "Stretched to the breaking point by a deluge of COVID-19 patients, Los Angeles County’s four public hospitals are preparing to take the extraordinary step of rationing care, with a team of “triage officers” set to decide which patients can benefit from continued treatment and which are beyond saving and should be allowed to die."
Obviously there are similar stories in the UK press as well.
Irrespective of the price of tests I am not sure I'd be wanting to venture far from my own front door right now.
Looking at this article from the LA Times: "Stretched to the breaking point by a deluge of COVID-19 patients, Los Angeles County’s four public hospitals are preparing to take the extraordinary step of rationing care, with a team of “triage officers” set to decide which patients can benefit from continued treatment and which are beyond saving and should be allowed to die."
Obviously there are similar stories in the UK press as well.
Irrespective of the price of tests I am not sure I'd be wanting to venture far from my own front door right now.
Sit at home PLEASE.
Noone needs to go away. If your job does, then you can get them to pay for you to have the test. Noone should be leisure travelling right now anywhere.. not in the UK nor outside of it.
Jan 8, 2021, 4:21 pm
#103
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What hasn’t been mentioned here is the fact that if you are tested positive you won’t be permitted to travel and will have to isolate for 2 weeks overseas let’s just hope people have the resources or travel insurance for this.
Totally kills the short break market
This is being implemented to stop ‘South African’ or other strains entering the UK and no other reason.
What we really need is test on arrival back into the UK for free with costs being born by airport or airline or cheap costs if passenger is to pay.
Totally kills the short break market
This is being implemented to stop ‘South African’ or other strains entering the UK and no other reason.
What we really need is test on arrival back into the UK for free with costs being born by airport or airline or cheap costs if passenger is to pay.
Makes no sense.
Test before departure. Presumably any travel is essential and the fact that there are additional costs associated with Covid travel is factored into just how essential the travel is.
If anything, I find it hard to justify the use of government resources to underwrite travel.
Jan 8, 2021, 4:56 pm
#104
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,059
The devolved administrations have control over public health, so to change would require new legislation. Boris is doing enough to drive them to independence as it is without throwing a land grab into the mix.
Jan 8, 2021, 6:21 pm
#105
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,200
As someone that works in the NHS, i still have to go to work and honestly, reading posts (that are not this one as its the only sensible one) is pretty disheartening on top of everything else.
Sit at home PLEASE.
Noone needs to go away. If your job does, then you can get them to pay for you to have the test. Noone should be leisure travelling right now anywhere.. not in the UK nor outside of it.
Sit at home PLEASE.
Noone needs to go away. If your job does, then you can get them to pay for you to have the test. Noone should be leisure travelling right now anywhere.. not in the UK nor outside of it.
