224
View
comments
Covid tests for travellers returning to Britain could be scrapped entirely in January, a Government minister said today.
Aviation minister Robert Courts said No10 was looking to review the measure at the start of 2022 to help the sector 'bounce back' from the pandemic.
He told aviation leaders during a conference at Westminster today: 'We all want to reduce not just testing but all the restrictive measures.'
Currently., everyone travelling to the UK — regardless of whether they are jabbed — must take a test after they enter the country.
Ministers dropped the costly requirement for £70 PCR tests for vaccinated people in September, and replaced them with cheaper lateral flow tests.
But Mr Courts suggested the measures were still restricting the sectors' ability to recover from almost two years of disruption.
For those who are not vaccinated, they must take a Covid test up to three days before they travel and two and eight days after they arrive in the UK.
Aviation minister Robert Courts said No10 was looking to review Covid test requirements for arrivals in January. (stock photo)
Mr Courts told the Airlines 2021 conference: 'We all want to see aviation bounce back.
He went on: 'We’re going to review the policy in January. We’ll be looking to see what we can do at that stage.'
Willie Walsh, the former boss of British Airways’ parent company IAG, said the current measures were still 'overly restrictive' and had been in place for 'far too long'.
