British Airways apologises after demanding pointless coronavirus tests from passengers
British Airways has issued an apology for demanding that passengers travelling to Iceland obtain a private Covid-19 test before departure to the country.
These tests were entirely pointless as Icelandic authorities are currently not accepting any test results from third parties, and testing all arrivals themselves.
The UK-based test required before boarding cost around £150 – visitors then found themselves having to pay a further £63 for another test on arrival to the island, or £52 if they had booked the Icelandic test in advance.
This expensive requirement for passengers flying from Heathrow to Reykjavik was first flagged by Clive Stacey, founder of the Surrey-based specialist tour operator Discover The World. Several of his clients had booked trips in July to Iceland, which has only had around 1,800 cases of coronavirus so far.
After a series of attempts to get British Airways to rectify the situation, he contacted The Independent about the issue.
His clients were originally due to travel via Icelandair, but the airline has cancelled many of its flights as it struggled with its finances. Cancelled Heathrow flights were subsequently rebooked with British Airways in accordance with EU law.
Iceland’s airport authority says: “Travellers will be given the choice of a test for the virus on arrival to all international airports in Iceland, or a two-week quarantine.” Despite this, British Airways insisted all passengers get tested before flying.
"My team and I tried every method in our power to get British Airways to change the incorrect advice which they were giving their passengers about Covid testing requirements," Stacey told Telegraph Travel, "but they just refused to listen and insisted that they were correct and we were wrong.
"This despite supplying them with links to the appropriate official Icelandic websites, available in English, that explain the regulations fully.
"The fact is that they were insisting that the client took a test, which would need to be done privately, at a cost probably more than the actual air ticket, otherwise they would be denied boarding. Then on arrival in Iceland they would have to submit to the same test again, at an additional significant cost. It was madness."
A spokesperson for British Airways has since confirmed the test requirements have been dropped.
“We’ve apologised to a small number of customers travelling on two flights to Iceland for an error in our communications,” they said.
“This is a dynamic and fast-moving situation and we are continually monitoring the different entry requirements for different countries, which frequently change.
“We recommend that our customers check the local entry requirements of their destination before travelling.”
