BUSINESS NEWS


Vaccinated arrivals to the UK will no longer be required to take a Covid test


Travel rules relaxation shaped by the industry


Changes meet sector demands and come in time for half-term. Ian Taylor reports


The government fulfilled a series of industry demands on Monday, opening up international travel in time for the February half-term. Fully vaccinated arrivals will no


longer have to take any test. Children aged 12-15 in England will be able to prove their vaccination status. The unvaccinated will no longer


face self-isolation and a day-eight test, though they must still take a pre- departure test and post-arrival PCR. Transport secretary Grant Shapps


committed to simplify the Passenger Locator Form (PLF), remove the


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threat of hotel quarantine for arrivals from red list countries and develop a “toolbox of contingency options” to respond to future Covid variants. He also pledged red list measures


would “only be applied if there is a variant of concern that poses a risk . . . even greater than Omicron”. The announcement went further


than many in the industry working with the government expected. But the measures were in keeping with what industry representatives demanded. In a letter to health secretary Sajid


Javid on Monday, Airlines UK and the heads of the major UK carriers repeated demands for restriction-free travel for those fully vaccinated and “a clear protocol for managing future variants . . . without universal testing or hotel quarantine”. And in a detailed submission to


the government’s international travel review last week, Iata and the UK Board of Airline Representatives (BAR-UK) urged the removal of all


Continued on page 54 travelweekly.co.uk


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