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The long-awaited UK government test to release the scheme, designed to allow travelers to cut off quarantine, was thrown into chaos on its first day of operations after the last-minute posting of 11 private providers, most of which seemed unable to offer service on Tuesday morning.
Airports, many of which have had test centers for weeks or months, were stumped at being left off the Department of Transportation’s approved list as they reported an increase in bookings in the lead-up to the holiday season.
Meanwhile, approved providers informed travelers that tests should be posted and results should be delivered within 48 hours of receipt, likely reducing the self-isolation period from 10 days to eight, instead of the five days it promised. the scheme.
It was understood that the DfT was attempting to speed up the approval of the airport’s test centers on Tuesday to rectify the unavailability.
An airport source said: “The rapid test is not yet approved, but it would reduce self-isolation to five days; that’s what we expected the situation to be from today. Unfortunately, the government has not even managed to obtain a list of who could do it in eight days. Given the small number of passengers traveling now, you must question the acquisition. “
Among the 11 companies that posted at 7.11 p.m. M. From the eve of the plan, SameDay Doctor said she had been overwhelmed and could no longer accept reservations or respond to emails. Another, Halo Verify, said the test kits were out of stock. The websites of some other providers appeared to have been blocked on Tuesday.
The trial-to-release scheme was first announced by Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps in October when a task force was established to address travel industry concerns and attempt to reduce the 14-day quarantine period.
Michael Smith, a British national living in the Netherlands, arrived in England on Monday via Eurotunnel after testing negative two days earlier, hoping to take advantage of the new regime to visit his mother, who suffers from dementia.
Instead, he found himself waiting to find out the identities of the approved providers and then failed to book a trial after contacting all of them.
“It looks like a fiasco,” Smith said. “I am trapped in a Travelodge near London. I thought in five days and I will go out. But of these providers, most are not ready and all are by mail; anyway, it will be almost 10 days. “
He said he was furious at the government for announcing a plan that was “just hot air.”
Heathrow said its test providers were working closely with the DfT to ensure they received government approval at the earliest opportunity.
A spokesperson for MAG, which owns Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports, described the delays at their test centers as frustrating and said they had “a provider with global experience and the ability to offer the widest possible range of tests to travelers”.
He said the provider, Collinson, had provided all the necessary information to the government and had been offering the tests to passengers to satisfy entry requirements from countries around the world since the beginning of the month. He added: “We have been assured that the matter will be resolved imminently.”
Gatwick Airport said it expected its own test center to be approved in a few days, and said the new system appeared to have given passengers more confidence to fly, with a flood of additional bookings for Christmas, including to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, which was recently removed from the government travel broker list of countries exempt from quarantine.
Up to 200 daily flights are forecast in December at the airport, 30% of pre-Covid levels, but many more than those that have operated in recent months.
The DfT has not yet responded to requests for comment.
