Fully vaccinated travellers arriving in England will no longer have to take Covid tests, Boris Johnson has confirmed.
Speaking to broadcasters on Monday morning, the prime minister said the relaxation was possible as the UK was “moving through the Omicron wave”.
“So what we’re doing on travel, to show that this country is open for business, open for travellers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated,” he said.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is due to give a statement to parliament later today.
Currently, vaccinated people travelling to England must pre-book a coronavirus test to be taken on day 2 after they arrive. They do not need to quarantine once they are in England.
If travellers are not fully vaccinated they must take a test up to 48 hours before their journey, and they must pre-book two tests to be taken on day 2 and day 8 after they arrive. Once they arrive in England they must quarantine for 10 days.
The change comes after the chief executives of the UK’s largest airlines wrote to the government to demand an end to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
In the letter, they asked that restriction-free travel was restored “at the very least” for those who are fully vaccinated.
The letter was signed by the heads of Ryanair, easyJet, Loganair, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Jet2, as well as the chief executives of holiday travel group Tui and trade body Airlines UK.
