Airlines and holiday companies are celebrating the 'game changing' lifting of coronavirus testing rules for travellers arriving in the UK.
Double-vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to take a coronavirus test when arriving in the UK from February 11, the transport secretary announced today.
Passengers who do not qualify as fully vaccinated will no longer be required to do a day eight test, but they will still need to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test within two days of arriving back in the UK.
Grant Shapps said the policy of post-arrival lateral flow tests for vaccinated travellers had “outlived its usefulness”, telling MPs in the House of Commons that the change would help the aviation industry to “take back to the skies”.
The changes will come into effect from 4am on February 11 – in time for the half-term holiday.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of airline industry body Airlines UK, said the announcement was “a landmark day for passengers, businesses and UK plc”.
“Nearly two years since the initial Covid restrictions were introduced, today’s announcement brings international travel towards near-normality for the fully vaccinated, and at last into line with hospitality and the domestic economy,” he said.
“It will offer further reassurance to those planning to travel, both overseas and into the UK, and demonstrates again that, following the success of the vaccine programme, the UK can lead the world in our recovery from the pandemic."
Mr Shapps also confirmed that 12 to 15-year-olds in England will be able to prove their vaccination status via the digital NHS pass for international outbound travel and that the UK is set to recognise vaccine certificates from 16 further nations.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays
Jet2 has described today's announcement as a 'game-changer' for holidays abroad, adding that the lifting of restrictions should be a 'permanent' move.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “This travel update is a real game-changer for the millions of people who simply want to get away to enjoy their well-deserved holidays.
"Today’s announcement means vaccinated customers can once again book and travel on the normal, hassle-free holidays that they know and love.
"We applaud the government for taking meaningful action to end a set of measures which were not only unnecessary but also ineffective in tackling the spread of the Omicron variant.
"This should now represent a permanent end to such restrictions, and we know customers will celebrate that news.”
Jet2 said it has seen an "immediate and dramatic" increase in holiday searches, with bookings returning to pre-pandemic levels following the last travel update on January 5
It added that traditional hotspots such as the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Spain, Italy and Portugal are selling strongly, and areas such as Greece, Turkey and Cyprus are seeing "enormous" growth.
Mr Heapy added: “With international travel once again starting to look like it did before the pandemic, customers are really jumping at the chance to make that booking, whether it is seeing friends and family, taking a holiday in the sunshine, a city break or a ski break.
"Many countries across Europe no longer require fully vaccinated customers to take a test, so it is great to see the UK join the club and allow hassle-free travel. We have a world-leading vaccination programme which until now, has not been fully realised.
"Allowing fully vaccinated customers and under 18s to travel freely without imposing testing on them is an enormous step in terms of getting our lives back to normal.”
EasyJet
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “We welcome this news knowing that millions of our customers will also be delighted to see the return of restriction-free travel in the UK. We now look ahead to what we believe will be a strong summer.
“We believe testing for travel should now firmly become a thing of the past.
“It is clear travel restrictions did not materially slow the spread of Omicron in the UK and so it is important that there are no more knee-jerk reactions to future variants.
“We commend the Government for removing all testing.
“EasyJet plans to return to near-2019 levels of flying this summer and so we can’t wait to welcome our customers back onboard.”
TUI
From its official Twitter account, TUI tweeted: "That feeling when holidays get EVEN easier! It's just been confirmed that, as of 11th February, fully-vaccinated travellers returning to England WON’T have to test when they get home."
