Grant Shapps confirmed he was considering whether air travellers could take a lateral flow test at home before departure; “a sort of Covid version of bring your own bottle before you go on holiday”, he said, rather than the more expensive PCR test.
“We are looking at things like whether people can take their tests away,” he said, speaking on an Airlines UK/ConservativeHome webinar.
The switch would address criticism from within the industry about the cost of testing. Shapps acknowledged concerns, but said: “For the time being, the PCR test gets us somewhat closer to the truth.”
