Aviation industry bodies have welcomed a move to scrap the quarantine requirement for travellers who have received both Covid vaccinations arriving from amber list destinations.
The announcement was made by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps who said the UK’s swift vaccination rollout had put the country in a position whereby it could move towards living with coronavirus while returning life to a sense of normality.
“I can confirm today from July 19 UK residents who are fully vaccinated through the UK vaccine rollout will no longer have to self-isolate when they return to England,” he said.
Passengers will still have to test on pre-departure and arrival
Passengers will still have to take a pre-departure test three days before the date of outward travel and a PCR test on or before day two. He added this would also apply to people travelling 14 days after their second jab. Those who have received both vaccinations will no longer be required to take a day 8 test, meaning the requirements for green and amber list countries would be the same.
BALPA (British Airline Pilots’ Association) General Secretary Brian Strutton said: “This is a good step towards the goal of safely opening up international travel, but there is still a long way to go.”
“The Government needs to ensure safe countries make it in on to the green list and must do all it can to rebuild public confidence. The airline industry was the first into the crisis and will be the last out. We need a sector specific financial package and an extension of furlough to stop skills being lost forever.”
“Positive move towards genuine reopening”
Commenting on today’s announcement, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, added: “This is a positive move towards the genuine reopening the sector has been looking for. Opening up the market for the rest of the summer, this announcement will provide far greater opportunities to travel, do business and see family and friends, and enable many more of our customers to book with certainty. The summer season essentially starts here.”
“Airlines look forward to working with Ministers and Border Force to ensure measures are in place by July 19 to provide a safe and streamlined experience at the UK border. We now urge the Government to continue this momentum by adding many more countries to the green list next week and removing onerous testing requirements at its next review on July 31, thereby opening up more non-quarantine travel to all.”
