In the wake of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, UK travel restrictions have been ramped up in a bid to control the surging cases.

Travellers heading to the UK will have to have a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test before their departure – on top of the pre-existing two-day test they need to take upon arrival.

Many countries also insist on you taking a PCR test before leaving the UK.

In terms of cost, these tests can be anything from £35 to £250 depending on who you go with and what package you purchase.

Metro.co.uk has rounded up where can you buy good-quality tests at the best price.

Where to find the cheapest PCR Covid tests for travel

British Airways

British Airways is offering discounted rates with government-approved Covid-19 testing providers with prices starting from £34.99.

Tests can be done at home, at testing centres, or at selected major UK airports.

You can find out more about booking a Covid-19 test with British Airways on their website.

Ryanair

Budget airline Ryanair has partnered with testing kit brand Randox to offer passengers money off its PCR tests, costing £43 – giving you a £5 saving.

Book your testing kit on the Ryanair website.

EasyJet

EasyJet has also partnered with Randox Health to offer discounted home testing kits for £43.

You can book your testing kit on the EasyJet website.

Tui home tests

Holiday company Tui has partnered with provider Chronomics, Screen4, and Randox on a range of Covid-19 test packages.

You need a booking reference with Tui in order to access their discounted PCR test kits booked through these partners, which cost between £35-£60.

Find out more about Tui testing kits on their website.

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Airports

Major airports are also offering reasonably-priced PCR testings.

Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, City, Manchester, East Midland, and Stansted airports offer Collinson tests.

Collinson’s rapid PCR tests, which offer results in three hours, are available at Heathrow and Gatwick for £95.

For ‘day two’ tests after flying into Heathrow, it offers a ‘park and test’ option near the west London airport for £69.

Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, and Edinburgh airports have partnered with ExpressTest.

ExpressTest’s fit-to-fly PCR tests at its airport branches range from £59 to £119 each, depending on the location and speed of results. It also offers LAMP and lateral flow tests at some of its branches.

Randox is provided at Heathrow, Belfast, Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports.

Randox offers express PCR tests for £80 at its airport locations. Day two and eight tests, as well those that enable passengers to test and release on day five, are available for £55 at its airport locations. These tests are done by trained staff at drive-through centres.

You should contact your desired airport to book your Covid-19 tests.

Randox Covid-19 tests can also be ordered straight from their website.

Boots

Boots UK has launched a PCR self-test package for £65 (or £136 for a dual day two and a day eight test package).

Its basic day two test – suitable for fully vaccinated travellers – can be purchased on boots.com and delivered the next day.

It is also available at over 500 Boots stores and can be purchased by Boots Advantage Card holders using their points.

Boots also offers an in-store Covid-19 PCR Testing Service for £79, which is now available at over 200 stores in the UK and offers results within 48 hours.

All three private Boots tests can be used as a private pre-flight testing service, depending on the specific requirements of the destination country and airline, for customers who require a negative Covid-19 certificate before travelling abroad.

Boots is also now an accredited test provider for the government’s ‘Test to Release’ scheme, offering in-store day five tests with next-day results for those wishing to reduce their home quarantine by taking a voluntary test on the fifth day after arriving in England from a country not on the ‘red list’.

Test to Release kits cost £85.

You can order your testing kits on the Boots website.

Government-approved providers

Your two-day test needs to be booked from a government-approved provider, and booked before you leave the UK.

The government website has a tool where you can narrow down test providers based on your travel details and vaccination status.

Most are in the range of £35-100 depending on whether they are a home test kit or clinic appointment, and how fast results are turned around.

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