Help! When do I test to fly to an amber listed country?

[Atleastthepoochlovesme]

Hi all,

Need some advice because can't seem to get it from any of the numerous testing companies I've called or from the .gov.uk website.

DH and I are flying to an amber listed country due to medical reasons next Sunday. Our flight is at 5:30pm which means we will need to take our test no earlier than 5:30pm on the Thursday before.

The problem is, the DX drop off office close at 5pm which means that we will have to test at 4:30pm on the Thursday which makes it 73 hours before departure. Will this make a difference?

I don't want to leave the testing until Friday as the samples won't arrive until Saturday (being DX'ed to Randox in Northern Ireland) and I worry that I won't get the results in time to fly on Sunday.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

Bump ... anyone please?

Which country?

@coogee Greece

@coogee we're going for 3 nights; 2 days

I believe it's counted from the time you land in Greece, not the time you leave the UK.

Can you do the test on the Friday?

As of May 14th, travelers arriving in Greece are required to have a negative PCR certificate from a testing laboratory, for a Covid-19 test taken no later than 72 hours before arrival.

travel.gov.gr/#/

It’s counted from the time you land, not the time you arrive. I had to pay a fortune for a weekend test last year, as my flight was on a Tuesday so the test needed to be on Sunday... they would not make exceptions.

I am in a similar situation (travelling to a country requiring testing 48 hours before entering) and chose a clinic that has same day results, so that I could book the test for the day before.
It's eye watering expensive...sob....

Oh gosh!! If it's counted from time of arrival, it narrows my window even more!! Aggghhhh!!

Looks like I'm going to have to just send it Friday and keep all fingers and toes crossed that I get the results on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I'm flying out for medical reasons and the last thing I need is added stress!!

@TakeYourFinalPosition @user1471523870 it's bloody extortion if you ask me! The clinic up the road said they'd do me a deal for £600 which covers fit to fly and day 2 and day 8 testing. Is that really a "deal"?!? As I'm flying with Ryanair, I used their discount code to get the very same tests for £360 but had to be done through the testing company Randox. I just hope Randox aren't tardy like Ryanair's flight departures!

If this is what future travel is going to look like, I won't be leaving the country after this trip!

@Atleastthepoochlovesme

Are you also aware that Ryanair won't let UK citizens fly with an electronic boarding card?

You need a printed one. If you don't, they will charge you a fortune to print one for you at the airport.

Good luck.

@ItsCokeFFS I always print my boarding passes just in case I lose/break/forget my phone. I also forward them to my DH just in case! I get paranoid like that. But thank you, it's good to know just in case I fancied being brave one day! Lol!
Ryanair love their charges! Soon, they'll charge for every inhale and exhale we make on the aircraft.

@atleastthepoochlovesme not wanting to pry at all about the sort of medical treatment, but if you are going to a clinic there that has recently moved buildings (intentionally not naming them!) they have an excellent fb group where lots of people have been discussing travel/ requirements and people that have been recently have been giving others advice.

Ryanair love their charges! Soon, they'll charge for every inhale and exhale we make on the aircraft.

There's no such thing as a flight for 50p.

@Redskyyy -- thanks for the advice. I'll take a look.

@coogee - spot on and funny!

Does anyone know what happens if your flight is delayed with regards to the PCR test then being over the 72 hours? Would it still be accepted if it's within the 72 hours of your planned arrival time?

@WhiteChocTwix Its up to the country but I believe the guidance is still to retest anyone who enters outside of the 72 hours; like it was last year.