Cheapest pre-flight covid-19 test

loverly9

I booked a flight to the Azores in September. Its only a one week trip and hotel not all that exciting, so prefer to be tested before flying. But, only place i saw requires a trip to london or otherwise not guaranteed to get within the 72 hour deadline. And, its, expensive, like 200 pound. Anyone any ideas?

Browntoa

Absolutely no point , a test only shows that you have got it at that time and have enough antibodies for the test to detect . A waste of £200

blindman

NHS Test centre ?

Alan_Bowen

I believe they need a certificate following the test and will not accept an email which you would get from the NHS. Agreed the test is pointless but it is the only acceptable method of being allowed into the Azores. Private testing seems to start around £200 and go as high as £350, whether you think that is a justifiable cost for your holiday is another matter, and you need to be certain when you return you won't also have a 14-day quarantine to face, as the rules can change at any time

jonam.forum

The PCR test required detects the presence of the virus genetic material, not antibodies so is fairly effective in detecting if a person is infected and avoiding importing infectious individuals . The NHS tests are reserved for those who may have the virus and are not a free holiday testing service so they deliberately do not send results as a certificate. To guarantee a within-day turnaround you are looking at around £350 ( so it's actually cheaper to fly to Austria/Germany and get the test there and fly back?!)
Heathrow may well have more developed testing facilities by September as the demand for them is only going to grow so as with most things covid, waiting may well be the best option...