Holidaymakers face extra £400 bills as pre-departure checks could return, government warns

Anyone entering the UK may be required to check MANDATORY at an additional cost for holidaymakers.

Scientists are urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to implement pre-departure tests on travelers to the UK to help prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

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Currently, travelers must take a PCR test within two days of arriving in the UK and isolate until they receive a negative result.

No need to check before boarding the plane back home.

A pre-departure inspection will incur additional charges for travelers and operators who are raising prices.

Based on Time, tourists are paying a grant of up to £100 for PCR tests sold by companies posted on government websites.

So for a family of four, pre-departure checks can cost £400 more than the cost of a holiday.

Government ministers are concerned that the introduction of pre-departure tests will further harm the tourism industry, which has been one of the hardest hit during the pandemic.

Travelers have been required to fill out passenger locator forms, provide proof of negative tests and have a Covid passport to visit most other countries.

The addition of pre-departure checks can cause some people to abandon vacation plans, because the cost is so low.

Omicron variant on the rise in UK with suspected cases increase in just five days.

Scientists estimate that one in every 300 new infections is caused by mutant superbugs.

Scots and Welsh people First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have called for more urgent measures to combat the spread of the new strain of bacteria in the UK.

They are urging the Prime Minister to go further by forcing everyone to take a test for the eighth day, and isolating until negative results return.

France will require pre-departure tests for all arrivals from outside the EU as of Saturday.

Fully vaccinated passengers will have to present a negative test result no later than 48 hours.

And here are the three symptoms of the Omicron variant which are different from other strains.

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