Britain mulls easing COVID-19 travel rules for England

• Announcement to relax the rules is expected on Friday
• Expensive tests could be deleted for those who are fully vaccinated
• Travel destinations can be classified as high or low risk
• Industry warns not to relax the rules
• Travel shares increase by 4-5%

LONDON, September 17th (Reuters) – The UK government will consider relaxing England’s COVID-19 rules on international travel on Friday Band.

While Europe has eased travel restrictions on fully vaccinated people, expensive COVID-19 testing requirements for fully vaccinated arrivals in the UK remain, preventing travel recovery as the harsher winter period approaches.

But rule changes could be announced later on Friday, Agriculture Secretary George Eustice said following advice from Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week and amid reports that popular winter sun destination Turkey may reopen to British travelers.

Travel stocks rose on Friday. British Airways owner IAG (ICAG.L) grew by 5%, TUI by 4%, Jet2 (JET2.L) by 5% and On the Beach (OTB.L) by 10%.

If the government does not abolish expensive tests and the so-called traffic light system, which classifies travel destinations in green, yellow and red, airports, airlines and travel companies have warned of further job losses.

“There are hundreds of companies that will not survive this winter if no changes are made,” Andrew Flintham, managing director of TUI UK, told Sky News on Friday.

Already on its knees after 18 months of restrictions, the travel industry is facing a cliff as the government’s vacation program ends later this month and winter approaches, when fewer people travel and businesses tend to lose money.

COST-EFFECTIVE CHECK RULES REMOVED

According to reports, the government will remove the requirement for fully vaccinated travelers to have a lateral flow test before departure and an expensive PCR test when they return to the UK, which can add hundreds of pounds to a trip per person.

Ministers will also simplify the target categories into either low or high risk and scrap Amber, the Times reported, with many countries, including Turkey, expected to be removed from the high risk red list.

Flintham said any new system would be better than the current setup.

“It will improve if we move away from the draconian measures that we are really applying now,” he said.

The data shows that the UK’s recovery is lagging behind. UK flights fell 39% in the two weeks to early September compared to pre-pandemic levels, while France, Spain and Italy fell between 24-28%, according to Eurocontrol.

There are currently 62 countries on the UK Red List, a designation that requires 11 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of more than £ 2,000. Quarantine hotels are expected to remain on the Red List for arrivals.

Any change in travel rules will apply to England, but decentralized administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could follow suit later. In the UK, more than 135,000 people have died from the pandemic.

($ 1 = 0.7247 pounds)

Reporting by Costas Pitas, Guy Faulconbridge and Sarah Young, editing by Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/17/britain-mulls-easing-covid-19-travel-rules-for-england/