DoctorHenryHoover91

[Deleted text]

Sprodo

On the government website for when you book a PCR test - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/corona...r-coronavirus/ or https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

Travelling abroad from England or returning

You may need to take a test before, during and after your trip.

Check the guidance on:

• travel abroad from England during COVID-19 on GOV.UK
• what you need to do when you return to England on GOV.UK

You’ll need to pay for a test yourself. You cannot use a free test from the NHS.

KARFA

Welcome to FT DoctorHenryHoover91

I am sorry that it is this issue which brings you here.

So as Sprodo notes the government advice since day 1 of testing has been NHS tests should not be used for travel - whether that is for testing needed for returning to the UK or for your destination. Some countries have explicitly included this in their official rules to state any pre arrival tests can't be NHS ones, but as you note it appears Mauritius doesn't say that explicitly. It does leave you in a tricky situation though with regards to your insurance unfortunately.

Did you manage to at least get a FTV for your flights and cancel any hotels?

South London Bon Viveur

On the face of it the OP has complied with the entry requirement. It's not BA's job to police PCR testing for the purposes of domestic UK laws/regs. That said, had the OP sought advice here I am sure the unanimous verdict would have been go and get a private PCR test, but on the face of it this is a bit of farcical situation.

Freddorick

Is the “NHS tests cannot be used for travel” an actual law or just something that is written on a website?

If it is an actual law I would say that OPs chances of a successful insurance claim are slim anyway. If it isn’t, wouldn’t OP have been incorrectly denied boarding and BA would be liable for EC261 compensation.

Anyway, hope all hotels could be cancelled and flights changed into an FTV.

NickB

The UK government can advise all it wants but the question for BA is not whether the traveller follows the advice given to him by the government but whether he has observed the regulatory requirements imposed by the state of origin and the state of destination. The state of origin, the UK, does not impose any tests for leaving the country so there is nothing there. The state of destination, like almost all states, does not impose a requirement that the test is not undertaken by the NHS (why would they care? If anything, a test carried by the NHS carries a greater degree of reliability than a test provided by an unknown random private supplier). In that situation, as long as the paperwork provided by the OP satisfied Mauritus's requirements, it seems to me that we are in a situation of unlawful denial of boarding by BA, unless BA can show that the test provided by the OP did not comply with Mauritius's requirements.

Where, as is almost always the case, the state of destination does not exclude NHS tests and the results are provided in a manner that satisfies the state of destination (which is usually where the problem lies with NHS tests), whether or not to use an NHS test for travel is a moral/ethical question rather than a contractual/legal one. The OP was satisfied that there was no moral/ethical issue in his situation (and even if there was, this is an issue for him, not for BA) so I am unclear as to what would be the basis for denial of boarding.

docdee

Most travel PCR results require a passport number on them so the NHS ones are unsuitable. Have you checked if this is a requirement from either BA or Mauritius?

GlasgowBlue

While I agree with you that it is in the main “farcical” that the OP has been denied boarding after having a test which will be of the exact same specs as the private PCR tests. I strongly suspect airlines have been told by UK government and devolved administrations not to accept NHS tests under any circumstances.

If they accept one person because they have a genuine need for an NHS test immediately before their flight, you open up the NHS COVID testing to be swamped by all and sundry claiming they’ve symptoms and need a test while in actual fact they just want a certificate for going on holiday.

No matter how well intentioned or genuine any exemptions to the general rule would be, I’d be extremely confident it would lead to a significant number of the public abusing the system.

I still do feel very sorry for the OP and completely understand the disappointment and frustration they’re no doubt currently feeling.

KARFA

I note when booking a PCR test with the NHS these sections are shown as you click through the process:

NickB

I am not sure that this is empirically true. Some states require it and others do not. You need to make sure that the name on the cert is the same as in the passport but the passport number itself is not required everywhere.

megaloman

You have to meet exit and entry requirements. UK exit requirements say - if you need a fit to fly test, it cannot be NHS one.

sigma421

NHS PCR tests would be problematic in terms of meeting rules. Results are provided in an email which makes it incredibly easy to change dates and even the result. There is just a name and a DoB, both of which can also be edited. I know PDFs can be faked/edited but the barrier is higher so I can see why they'd be tricky to accept.

NickB

Yes, you cannot use this service specifically to book tests for travel. In other words, if you do this, then the NHS can (and will) refuse to provide you a test. However, if you have to have a PCR test for a reason other than travel, there is nothing to say that you cannot also use the results of that test for travel. In any event, we are talking about advice here rather than regulatory requirements, are we not?

It is exactly the same as the advice in France saying that self-tests (whether supervised by a professional or not) are not allowed for travel. Well, they would not be accepted by France as valid evidence of a negative test. It does not mean that, if you are traveling from France to the UK, you could not use a self-test for travel to the UK (at the time the UK still required pre-departure tests). It is the UK rules that matter as to what is accepted as a valid test in that situation.

KARFA

the text i quoted above is clear you can't use it for travel.

NickB

There are no exit requirements from the UK: the UK does not require a fit to fly test to leave the UK.