UK Covid travel tests would price people off flights - easyJet CEO

(Sharecast News) - Proposed UK Covid test rules for international travel would make flying too expensive for most people, the boss of budget airline easyJet said on Tuesday.
The government wants to implement a "traffic light" system for overseas destinations, with assessments based on factors such as vaccination and infection rates.

But easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said passengers should not face "more complexities and cost" for visiting safe destinations, adding that the test regime would only reopen international travel "for people who can afford it".

Travellers returning from countries rated "green" will not be required to self-isolate, although pre-departure and post-arrival tests will still be needed - potentially costing up to £200 each.

Lundgren warned the polymerase chain reaction tests are "way over and above what the cost is of an average easyJet fare".

"I don't think that is fair, I don't think it's right, and I don't think it is necessarily established from a medical and scientific point of view that is the right thing to do.," he told the BBC.

"If they choose, however, to go down that route to have the tests in place, it should be the same type of testing, the lateral flow testing, which is much cheaper, more accessible, that is being used to open up the domestic sector as an example."

On Sunday, plans for a risk-based system to restart foreign travel were outlined, in which countries would be classified as "green", "amber" or "red" based on infection rates and vaccination coverage.

"If you are ticking all of those boxes to become a green destination... [Multiple tests] don't make sense to me and it would add to cost and complexities," Lundgren said.

He added that he still expected holidays in the summer months of July and August would be able to go ahead.

Leading travel industry figures have reacted with dismay to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's latest comments on the lockdown roadmap, saying they need more clarity.

Johnson said he was "hopeful" foreign travel could begin again on May 17, but warned more data was needed before a firm decision could be taken.

The Business Travel Association said the announcement was "beyond disappointing" and called for "a clear pathway to international travel and trade".

Chief executive, Clive Wratten, said moves to open borders had "once again been kicked down the road".

"The business travel industry continues to be crippled by today's lack of movement," he added.