All Covid international restrictions for travellers entering the UK will be dropped from the early hours of Friday morning – despite calls for some to remain.
Until now, non-vaccinated travellers have had to take pre-departure PCR tests before arriving while completing locator forms.
Meanwhile, fully vaccinated travellers have also had to complete locator forms to state where they will be staying.
The UK Government has now confirmed the travel restrictions will come to an end at 4am on Friday, March 18.
Remaining hotel quarantine capacities will also be gone completely by the end of March.
However, the Scottish Government has expressed concerns about the move.
What are the Scottish Government concerns?
The decision to drop the Covid travel restrictions was made following cross-UK talks.
The Scottish Government “reluctantly” agreed to the step, but during the talks expressed concern over the lack of border checks.
An attempt was made to maintain some form of border surveillance amid current Covid concerns but it was not taken further due to the negative impact of different rules on various parts of the UK on the tourism industry.
Transport minister Michael Matheson said: “These measures significantly open up international travel and were agreed on a UK wide basis despite the Scottish Government raising concerns over the lack of border controls.
“However, we recognise the benefits of acting on a four nation basis and this will bring a high degree of normality back to travel and is extremely welcome for Scottish tourism, the aviation sector and travellers alike.
“There will be continued surveillance by the UK Health Security Agency to monitor for developments of concern and a contingency toolkit is being progressed which will enable an agile and rapid response in future to any changes.”
UK Government transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “The UK is leading the world in removing all remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions, and today’s announcement is a testament to the hard work everyone in this country has put in place to roll out the vaccine and protect each other.
“I said we wouldn’t keep travel measures in place for any longer than necessary – providing more welcome news and greater freedom for travellers ahead of the Easter holidays.”
Travel industry welcomes drop of Covid restrictions
The UK Health Security Agency will continue to monitor for potential harmful Covid variants in the coming months.
The decision only affects travellers arriving in the UK, and those leaving to go overseas must still abide by the rules in the country they are arriving in.
Meanwhile, the travel industry has welcomed the news.
Karen Dee, chief executive of Airport Operators Association, which represents Aberdeen among others in the UK, said: “A return to restriction-free travel is good news for passengers and should allow for aviation to take significant steps towards recovery.
“People should feel encouraged to book their long-awaited holidays, trips to see relatives and friends abroad they haven’t seen for a long time and travel to rekindle business ties with other countries.”
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