The UK government is all set to lift its remaining Covid-19 pandemic-related international travel restrictions from this Friday, including the requirement for travellers to fill in a compulsory Passenger Locator Form before entering the country.
From March 18, Friday onwards, passengers arriving in the UK would no longer be required to submit travel details or take a PCR test even if they are unvaccinated. The change would remove the remaining rules in place for unvaccinated passengers to take a pre-departure test and another test two days after arrival.
“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,” tweeted Grant Shapps, UK Transport Secretary, on Monday.
“I said we wouldn’t keep travel measures in place for any longer than necessary, which we’re delivering on today – providing more welcome news and greater freedom for travellers ahead of the Easter holidays. I look forward to continuing to work with the travel sector and partners around the world to keep international travel moving”, he said.
The Easter break in April is a popular holiday period in the UK and the changes have been timed to help families make travel plans without the need for additional requirements.
“As we learn to live with Covid-19, we’re taking further steps to open up international travel once again ahead of the Easter holidays”, said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants and keep a reserve of measures that 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 eight out of 10 adults across the UK boosted”, he said.
As per the official figures, as many as 86 per cent of the UK population received the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 67 per cent of the population has had a third top-up booster dose.
