New rules on international travel in Scotland will come into effect from tomorrow as the country continues to emerge from the worst of the Omicron Covid wave.
The change to the restrictions will have implications on testing requirements and the isolation rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated passengers.
Officials at the Scottish Government said the rule change will be welcome news for the tourism and aviation sectors.
When announcing the new rules, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “These measures will significantly open up international travel and were agreed on a UK wide basis.
“The measures will be extremely welcome for the Scottish tourism and aviation sectors, encouraging travel from our airports.
“While this is a positive step which will be welcomed by many we believe further surveillance measures will be necessary across all nations – as intelligence will help in terms of variants of concern. It was agreed further work to take this forward will be carried out over the coming weeks.”
Changes coming into force
Travellers that have completed a full course of any approved Covid vaccine - which is usually two doses - will not be required to take a test within two days of their arrival in Scotland.
Passengers who are yet to be vaccinated, or have just received half of the recommended doses, will no longer be required to self-isolate.
The requirement for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people to take a test on day eight of their arrival will also be scrapped.
When are the rule changes coming into effect?
The travel rules will be adjusted from 4am on February 11, the Scottish Government has confirmed.
Changes that will stay in place
All passengers will still be required to fill out a passenger locator form prior to their entry into Scotland.
Rules of face coverings will remain in place across Scotland’s airports under the current Covid legislation.
Travellers that are yet to receive a full course of the vaccine or have not been vaccinated at all will have to take pre-departure test and a PCR test within two days of their arrival in Scotland.
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