U.K. Scraps Pre-Departure Covid Test for Vaccinated Visitors

(Bloomberg) --

The U.K. will no longer require vaccinated travelers to take a Covid-19 test before boarding a flight to the country, after airlines hard-hit by the omicron variant lobbied for the rules to be eased.

A lateral-flow test must still be taken within two days of entering England, but the requirement for a more-costly PCR assessment will be eliminated, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday. People will no longer need to self-isolate on arrival unless they test positive. The changes take effect on Friday.

Loosening border rules introduced to slow the spread of omicron will bring some relief to carriers after air travel was stymied during the year-end holiday period. While governments have introduced a slew of restrictions, evidence is growing that the now-dominant variant produces milder symptoms than earlier Covid waves.

“This will make travel much simpler and easier and means our customers can book and travel with confidence,” EasyJet Plc Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren said in a statement. He urged the government to go further and eliminate the post-arrival antigen test as well.

The pre-departure hurdle “discourages many from traveling for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense,” Johnson told Parliament following a regular three-week review of travel requirements. The country will now return to travel rules that were in place in October, he said.

The measures will be instituted in parallel with a temporary relaxation of domestic Covid-19 testing rules to free up capacity with new cases remaining at record levels. People who test positive using rapid antigen kits will no longer need PCR checks to confirm the result, the U.K. Health Security Agency said Wednesday.

U.K. Eases Covid-19 Testing Rules as Omicron Breaks Records

Holiday Slump

Shares of airlines dependent on the U.K. market, including Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet and British Airways owner IAG SA, reversed earlier losses after local news outlets reported on the relaxation of travel testing requirements.

The U.K., one of the first countries to identify omicron's presence, has been subject to targeted restrictions from nations including Germany and France. Hong Kong on Wednesday said it would ban flights for two weeks from a number of places including Britain and the U.S.

Hong Kong Scraps Flights, Shuts Bars, Gyms on Omicron Threat

Along with other governments, Britain toughened its own entry requirements starting in November, in a setback to what had been shaping up as a broad recovery for air travel.

Airlines, which have railed against border restrictions throughout the two-year coronavirus crisis, stepped up a campaign this week to lift the testing mandate in full, arguing that the significant cost is crushing demand.

Manchester Airports Group and industry lobby Airlines UK published research maintaining that the removal of testing requirements on international travel won't affect Covid's spread, and that domestic restrictions were the only way to stem the virus within Britain.

“Our temporary testing requirements were introduced to prevent additional omicron cases from entering the U.K., stopping people from passing it on to others if they are infected,” a spokesman for the Department for Transport said in response to the industry report.

Step Back

The clampdowns on travel have stalled progress toward the use of so-called vaccine passports that had taken hold over summer. The airline industry has faced ever changing rules through the course of the pandemic.

In May, the U.K. introduced a so-called traffic light system setting entry requirements by country, with arrivals from places classified as red forced to pay for an expensive hotel quarantine.

The process was revised in late summer to rely more on vaccination status. Until the onset of omicron, travelers from most places who could show they had a full dose of approved vaccines were allowed to enter without pre-testing.

“This is a hugely welcome move at a critical time in the booking season for passengers, and will provide a massive boost to those wanting to travel abroad or come to the U.K. this year.” said Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK. “People will now be able to book knowing that –- for the fully-vaccinated –- all emergency testing restrictions have been removed.”