On April 20, 2021, easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren speaking at the World Aviation Festival virtual event pointed out the lack of evidence of statistical data on the basis of certain travel restrictions and requirements while flying to low infection rate countries.
While speaking about the PCR testing requirements for travelers, Lundgren said that he was not sure whether PCR tests needed to be in place at all, as the flights from the UK beginning May 17, 2021, would be operating to countries where the rate of the COVID-19 infections are low.
Additionally, Lundgren raised concerns over the limited evidence of statistical data on certain travel requirements, namely PCR testing, which was “seemingly out of reach for the customers” because of excessive testing prices.
“One of the biggest concerns I have is that travel measures and restrictions that have been introduced previously will just linger on. We need to see evidence of clear statistics on why certain restrictions need to be in place,” Lundgren noted.
Debates over excessive testing prices in the United Kingdom came after IATA called on the UK Competition and Market Authority to launch an inquiry on why travelers in the United Kingdom are paying twice as much for PCR tests as in Europe.
After the investigation, the UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps acknowledged that PCR testing was too expensive and that the price needed to be “driven down”.
“Like you, I’m concerned about the cost of these. We would like to see the cost driven down. I’m going to work with the private sector to see whether this can’t be driven down quite a lot further,” Shapps said during BBC Breakfast on April 9, 2021.