London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 22, 2026

Covid-19: English travellers face fines and losing flights without new permit

Covid-19: English travellers face fines and losing flights without new permit

Anyone travelling overseas from England from Monday will have to prove they are allowed to travel, or risk being turned away from the airport and fined.

They will need to complete a "Declaration to Travel" document from a government website.

The form sets out that their trip is permitted under current restrictions, such as for education or work.

Police officers will be conducting spot checks and may ask travellers to produce a completed form.

It will be an offence to fail to produce a completed form and individuals could face a £200 fine, the Department for Transport warned.

The form must be downloaded from the government's website, signed before travel and carried or downloaded on to a mobile phone.

The three-page form requires travellers to fill out their personal details and tick a box indicating why they are leaving the country.

Airlines will check the forms have been completed before boarding, either at check-in (online or check-in desk) or at the departure gate.

Passengers who do not have a valid form may be denied access to their flight.

Airlines are legally obliged to set out on their website that the form must be completed before travelling.

Current lockdown restrictions mean it is illegal to travel abroad without a permitted reason, such as for work, volunteering, education, medical grounds or funerals.

Foreign holidays for people in England will not be permitted before 17 May under Boris Johnson's roadmap for easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Passengers who are identified by police as attempting to travel internationally for reasons that are not currently permitted will be asked to return home and risk being fined for breaking the rules.

The fines start at £200 and soar to a maximum of £6,400.

What about travelling from Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales?


There are slightly different restrictions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales but, as yet, no declaration for travel form is required.

Under current UK-wide Covid-19 restrictions, you must not travel, including abroad, unless you have a legally permitted reason to do so.

It is illegal to travel abroad from anywhere in the UK for holidays and other leisure purposes.

Travellers arriving anywhere in the UK now have to take two coronavirus tests while quarantining, while some must pay to self-isolate at a hotel.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Andy Burnham Reaffirms UK Net-Zero Target With £30 Million Community Energy Fund
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
UK Consumer Confidence Falls to Three-Year Low
UK Diesel Prices Approach £2 a Litre as Global Supply Shortages Intensify
Chiltern Railways Returns to Public Ownership as UK Rail Nationalisation Advances
British Museum Faces Questions Over Peter Thiel’s Private Bayeux Tapestry Viewing
Earl Spencer Memoir Excerpts Renew Public Debate Over Diana’s Death
Liberal Democrats Gather in Brighton for Autumn Conference
Mothercare Shares Plunge as Middle East Store Closures Threaten Long-Term Solvency
Kent Police Treat Folkestone Hotel Fire as Suspicious
Caribbean Governments Advance Reparations Campaign Seeking Engagement With Britain
Scottish Labour Leader Backs Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea Projects
FCA Urges Young Adults to Trace £1.5 Billion in Unclaimed Child Trust Funds
UK Competition Regulator Opens Inquiry Into McCormick-Unilever Foods Deal
Public Inquiry Into Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Mental Health Failings Set to Begin
Nigel Farage Looks to US Immigration Enforcement Model for UK Border Policy
Chiltern Railways Moves Into Public Ownership
Security Review Raises Concerns Over Sensitive UK Police Data Stored on Microsoft Cloud
Burnham Government Warns of Difficult Autumn Budget as Fiscal Headroom Narrows
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
×