Prices Of Flights To The US Soar After The Ban On Vaccinated Adults Is Lifted

Families planning autumn and winter trips to America were dealt a blow as it emerged unvaccinated children will have to take three COVID tests.

It means testing bills could add at least £70 per child to the cost of a transatlantic trip when the US opens to British tourists.

The shift in border rules has prompted a surge in demand and the cost of flights.

But in updated travel guidance, Washington said that unjabbed under 18s will have to take a post-arrival test between days three and five.

It’s understood this can be a rapid antigen test, which can cost only £8 in America but could be as much as £30 if shops are out of stock of the cheaper ones.

This is an addition to the pre-departure test in the United Kingdom which must be taken by all tourists within three days of travelling to America.

This can also be a rapid test but must be supervised by a clinician in person or by an online video call, making it about £40.

UK rules mean another test must be taken by day two on arrival back home.

This can be an unsupervised rapid lateral flow test typically costing £20 to £25.

It applies to children aged five to 17 and adults. Vaccines in the UK are only being offered to children aged 12 to 17.

The US is allowing adults in only if they’re fully vaccinated.

Despite the rules, airlines are gearing up for their busiest day of transatlantic flying since America banned British tourists in March 2020.

The demand is driving up the price of flights, and those with British Airways from Heathrow to JFK in New York were £350 on November 7 but £1,319 the next day.

Virgin Atlantic flights rose from £584 to £1,215 for the same days.

In better news, the last seven countries remaining on the foreign travel red list were removed.

It means that, for the first time since February, Britons can go anywhere in the world without facing 11 nights of hotel quarantine on their return.

Numerous people in the United Kingdom have families that live in the US, and who haven’t been able to see their families for two years, and then they were hoping to be able to visit, but most people can’t because of the exponential cost, and it’s a disgrace, and pure greed.

I would have hoped that COVID may have made the world a more compassionate place, but it seems that corporate greed knows no bounds, and corporate greed seems to be in supply and demand now, and every other business is doing it.

And I understand that these airlines have lost billions during COVID and they know that if someone is willing to pay a higher price for a flight then they will charge it.

People haven’t seen their families for a few years now because of COVID, and even though it’s not the fault of the people, greedy airlines think it’s okay to charge enormous amounts of money. This is just pure greed and these airlines need to support their customers because when things calm down eventually, those people will have a choice on whether they want to travel or not.

Although I suppose we should be grateful that the airlines are even still going because they’ve not had much revenue and fuel has increased somewhat, and it seems that COVID is a political virus now and it stopped being a serious medical problem months ago.