The British government is scrapping all of its Covid-19 incoming travel requirements
The UK government has announced that the remaining requirements to enter the country, enforced in an effort to minimize the spread of Covid-19 and most recently revised last month, will no longer be in effect as of Friday, March 18.
The current rules state that everyone entering the UK needs to submit a passenger locator form via the government website in advance of their journey. In addition, those who aren’t vaccinated against Covid-19 need to be able to present a negative test result upon arrival, as well as take a PCR test after arrival.
As of 04:00 UTC on Friday, these rules will be scrapped as part of the country’s “Living with Covid” plans, which entail a graduated lifting of all legal requirements pertaining to Covid-19.
Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, confirmed the relaxation of measures in a tweet on Monday, adding that it’ll mean greater ease of travel over the upcoming Easter holidays.
TRAVEL UPDATE
All remaining Covid travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for all arrivals, will be stood down for travel to the UK from 4am on 18 March.
These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 14, 2022
Although there have been some concerns from the Scottish and Welsh governments about abolishing the last entry requirements, they will comply with the decision in order to avoid a “negative impact of non-alignment on the tourism industry”.
The news comes as a relief to the travel industry, holidaymakers and frequent commuters alike, as London serves as one of the biggest air transport hubs in the world, and traveling to the UK is about to become the simplest it’s been since before the pandemic began.
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