New Rules whe arriving from Amber list countries

[Blue and white stripes]

Type of test

You must make sure that the test provider you choose can meet the standards for pre-departure testing.

You must take the test in the 3 days before the service on which you will arrive in England departs.

For example, if you travel directly to England on Friday, you can take the test on or after Tuesday and will need to have the negative result available before boarding on Friday.

The test must meet performance standards of ≥97% specificity, ≥80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml.

This could include tests such as:

a nucleic acid test, including a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or derivative technologies, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) tests
an antigen test, such as a test from a lateral flow device

It’s your responsibility to ensure the test meets the minimum standards for sensitivity, specificity and viral load details. You must check with your test provider that it meets those standards.

Off Gov UK.

[Nikkim79]

Type of test

You must make sure that the test provider you choose can meet the standards for pre-departure testing.

You must take the test in the 3 days before the service on which you will arrive in England departs.

For example, if you travel directly to England on Friday, you can take the test on or after Tuesday and will need to have the negative result available before boarding on Friday.

The test must meet performance standards of ≥97% specificity, ≥80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml.

This could include tests such as:

a nucleic acid test, including a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or derivative technologies, including loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) tests
an antigen test, such as a test from a lateral flow device

It’s your responsibility to ensure the test meets the minimum standards for sensitivity, specificity and viral load details. You must check with your test provider that it meets those standards.

Off Gov UK.

That’s exactly as I understand it too. My mum and dad have booked at the Clinica gran alacant and they’ve been booked in more than 30 hours before arriving back in U.K. Maybe each clinic has different rules to when they test?

[DaveG]

Yes you can only follow the rules that apply at the time. I think the detail is in the last sentence

"It’s your responsibility to ensure the test meets the minimum standards for sensitivity, specificity and viral load details. You must check with your test provider that it meets those standards"

I suppose this is where different clinics put their own interpretation into the mix. The reasoning to me was that as the LFT wasn't as accurate as the PCR it was best done as close to flight time as possible. Others may take a different view, but so long as you follow the rules you can't go wrong.

Have a good trip

[BeachLife]

Monday flights.

We were ok yesterday flying home later at night so getting a test done (Family Clinic next to old Rogers) was OK. But some friends were cutting it a bit fine for a Monday am flight to get that done, wait for the result and get off to the airport.

It really pays to book well in advance for your return test. I reserved mine 5 days before flying and the early slots had all gone.

They don't open at weekends (any of the clinics) - and it was all made worse this weekend with there being a very local (GA and SP) bank holiday on Friday

[Nikkim79]

Monday flights.

We were ok yesterday flying home later at night so getting a test done (Family Clinic next to old Rogers) was OK. But some friends were cutting it a bit fine for a Monday am flight to get that done, wait for the result and get off to the airport.

It really pays to book well in advance for your return test. I reserved mine 5 days before flying and the early slots had all gone.

They don't open at weekends (any of the clinics) - and it was all made worse this weekend with there being a very local (GA and SP) bank holiday on Friday

Did you fly from Alicante back to U.K. yesterday? How were the airports/queues/checking of tests done etc? Did it all run smoothly for you? Will be nice to hear some positive experiences this week of travelling there and back!
Nikki x

[Paublo]

Looking for advise. I'm filling in my details on the spth app for flying into Spain. First line on box is headed form alias. Not sure what this means so can't really proceed with filling in. Thanks in advance

[Derek]

Alias meaning is a name that is not your birth (family) name but one that you are known by. For example my name is Derek but I might use another name like Joe which would be an Alias.

Derek

[Paublo]

Thanks Derek. That seems logical

[wilson]

For anyone concerned about visiting GA this year I have to say the Spanish unlike many in the UK are taking the pandemic very seriously still. Despite regulations changing many are still wearing masks on the street and giving others space. In the supermarkets the only people wearing there mask on the chin or hanging on one ear are the stupid brits. All restaurants and bars I’ve been to are well run with plenty of cleaning between customers. We definitely feel safer here than back in the uk.

[BeachLife]

Yes it went very smoothly.

We flew into BHX. We used bag -drop and there was plenty of staff in the queue to check over your Spanish PCR test, your UK track and trace. They then give you a piece of paper to prove your document check so that when you go to the gate you sail straight through (handing over that piece of paper)

If you don't bag-drop you can have your docs checked at the gate but takes a bit of time.

Arrival at BHX was also easy we just went straight through and had no further checks - although there was a person prior to the security queue doing random checks on Track and trace QR codes

Monday flights.

We were ok yesterday flying home later at night so getting a test done (Family Clinic next to old Rogers) was OK. But some friends were cutting it a bit fine for a Monday am flight to get that done, wait for the result and get off to the airport.

It really pays to book well in advance for your return test. I reserved mine 5 days before flying and the early slots had all gone.

They don't open at weekends (any of the clinics) - and it was all made worse this weekend with there being a very local (GA and SP) bank holiday on Friday

Did you fly from Alicante back to U.K. yesterday? How were the airports/queues/checking of tests done etc? Did it all run smoothly for you? Will be nice to hear some positive experiences this week of travelling there and back!
Nikki x

[Andy L]

We flew in to Manchester the other week,when i asked if they wanted to see our track and trace QR code i was informed it is automatically linked to your passport and it brings it up on their screen,our passports where manually checked by border force not the automatic passport scanners.

[wilson]

Yes it went very smoothly.

We flew into BHX. We used bag -drop and there was plenty of staff in the queue to check over your Spanish PCR test, your UK track and trace. They then give you a piece of paper to prove your document check so that when you go to the gate you sail straight through (handing over that piece of paper)

If you don't bag-drop you can have your docs checked at the gate but takes a bit of time.

Arrival at BHX was also easy we just went straight through and had no further checks - although there was a person prior to the security queue doing random checks on Track and trace QR codes

Monday flights.

We were ok yesterday flying home later at night so getting a test done (Family Clinic next to old Rogers) was OK. But some friends were cutting it a bit fine for a Monday am flight to get that done, wait for the result and get off to the airport.

It really pays to book well in advance for your return test. I reserved mine 5 days before flying and the early slots had all gone.

They don't open at weekends (any of the clinics) - and it was all made worse this weekend with there being a very local (GA and SP) bank holiday on Friday

Did you fly from Alicante back to U.K. yesterday? How were the airports/queues/checking of tests done etc? Did it all run smoothly for you? Will be nice to hear some positive experiences this week of travelling there and back!
Nikki x

Beach life if I could ask why did you do a pcr and not a LFT for entry back into the UK.
Regards Wilson

[Blue and white stripes]

Exactly as Beachlife says re flying into BHX.

However paper copies are easier and quicker if you can do them. If you only have copies on your phone like me join the queue at check-in and get them checked there by the people who walk up and down the queue. I was checked and left the queue after 5 minutes, way before I would have got to the check-in desk. That little slip of paper is like a 'golden ticket'.
It's a lot easier and less stressful than desperately searching for the docs when you're waiting at the gate with everyone watching. There was an old bloke desperately trying to explain at the gate that he'd done the locator form but the page was saying 'Document not available'. He wasn't allowed on the plane.

[BeachLife]

Sorry to be clear on the test - it was this one:

Type of test : Sars-Cov-2 antigen test
Type of sample: Nasopharyngeal Frotis
NO presence of Sars-Cov-2 virus antigens has been detected in your sample
Sensitivity : 98.4 %
Specificity: 99.8 %

Only one on offer

Yes it went very smoothly.

We flew into BHX. We used bag -drop and there was plenty of staff in the queue to check over your Spanish PCR test, your UK track and trace. They then give you a piece of paper to prove your document check so that when you go to the gate you sail straight through (handing over that piece of paper)

If you don't bag-drop you can have your docs checked at the gate but takes a bit of time.

Arrival at BHX was also easy we just went straight through and had no further checks - although there was a person prior to the security queue doing random checks on Track and trace QR codes

Monday flights.

We were ok yesterday flying home later at night so getting a test done (Family Clinic next to old Rogers) was OK. But some friends were cutting it a bit fine for a Monday am flight to get that done, wait for the result and get off to the airport.

It really pays to book well in advance for your return test. I reserved mine 5 days before flying and the early slots had all gone.

They don't open at weekends (any of the clinics) - and it was all made worse this weekend with there being a very local (GA and SP) bank holiday on Friday

Did you fly from Alicante back to U.K. yesterday? How were the airports/queues/checking of tests done etc? Did it all run smoothly for you? Will be nice to hear some positive experiences this week of travelling there and back!
Nikki x

Beach life if I could ask why did you do a pcr and not a LFT for entry back into the UK.
Regards Wilson

[wilson]

Super thanks for reply.