UK removes all travel measures from Friday
All remaining COVID travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for arrivals, will end on Friday, the transport secretary has said.
Anyone arriving in the UK from 4am on 18 March will not need to comply with any of the previous rules.
Grant Shapps tweeted: “These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter.”
Lifting the final restrictions, people will be able to holiday in the UK with some kind of normality for the first time since the pandemic began.
The change also removes the need for unvaccinated passengers to take a pre-departure test and a day 2 post arrival test.
Following the news, Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As we learn to live with Covid, we’re taking further steps to open up international travel once again ahead of the Easter holidays.
“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants, and keep a reserve of measures which can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe.
“We can remove these final restrictions thanks to the incredible success of our vaccination programme which has seen more than 8 out of 10 adults across the UK boosted.”
Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, commented:
Today’s announcement sends a clear message to the world – the UK travel sector is back. With travellers returning to the UK no longer burdened by unnecessary forms and testing requirements, we can now look forward to the return to pre-COVID normality throughout the travel experience.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said:
Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, today’s announcement marks international travel finally returning to normal. The removal of passenger locator forms and testing regimes means that customers can at long last enjoy hassle-free travel, just like they did before the pandemic.
Heapy added that the announcement had come at “the perfect time” for the industry, especially with Easter around the corner. He said he believed that the removal of forms and requirements would further boost a strong and sustained demand for travel.
Heathrow Airport said wearing face masks will also no longer be a requirement from Wednesday this week, while most airlines continue to enforce the rule.
The news will undoubtedly boost the UK travel industry that has been pounded since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020.