London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

COVID-19: Pre-departure tests return for all UK arrivals to tackle Omicron - as Nigeria added to red list

COVID-19: Pre-departure tests return for all UK arrivals to tackle Omicron - as Nigeria added to red list

The health secretary acknowledges that the measures are "hugely unfortunate" for people who already had travel plans but insists they will be "temporary".

All international arrivals to the UK will again be required to take pre-departure COVID-19 tests to tackle the spread of the new Omicron variant, the health secretary has announced.

The rule applies to all travellers over the age of 12 visiting the UK or returning from a holiday, regardless of vaccination status, and will come into force from 4am on Tuesday 7 December.

Tests must be taken a maximum of 48 hours before the departure time.

Sajid Javid said it was because of an "increasing number of cases linked to travel".

In addition, Nigeria is being added to the travel red list - joining several southern African nations which were put on it after the Omicron variant was first detected late last month.

It means that only UK citizens and residents will be able to enter the country from Nigeria, and they will have to pay to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.

That change comes in from 4am on Monday, with Mr Javid saying Nigeria is "second only to South Africa for cases linked to Omicron".

He added that there are "27 cases already in England and that's growing".

Overall, there are now 160 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, with British scientists having suggested that it could have a "shorter incubation period" than other variants.

Mr Javid acknowledged that the measures are "hugely unfortunate" for people who already had travel plans, but insisted they would be "temporary".

"We want to remove them as soon as we possibly can," he added, saying that "vaccines remain our first line of defence".

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said "additional caution" was required until the Omicron "picture is clearer".

Travel rules are a matter for the devolved administrations, but measures introduced by Downing Street are usually replicated elsewhere, and Scotland quickly announced the same testing requirements.

Scotland's Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: "We have always said it may be necessary to quickly implement fresh measures to protect public health in Scotland, particularly with regards to international travel, and these restrictions are proportionate and necessary to that aim."

Regarding the pre-departure test, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted: "Finally! But why on earth is this still only being brought in nearly TWO WEEKS AFTER Omicron was identified?"

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting questioned why pre-departure tests are being allowed "up to 48 hours before flight?".


Rapid changes to UK entry requirements have made it "impossible" for the travel industry to plan ahead, the CEO of Airlines UK said.

Tim Alderslade added: "It is premature to hit millions of passengers and industry before we see the full data.

"We don't have the clinical evidence. The red list extension made complete sense - that's what it's there for - but we know from experience that blanket restrictions do not stop the importation of variants."

The Airport Operators Association agreed, saying that pre-departure tests will be a "devastating blow for aviation and tourism".

Chairman and CEO of British Airways Sean Doyle said the move was a "devastating blow".

He said: "The blanket re-introduction of testing to enter the UK, on top of the current regime of isolation and PCR testing on arrival is completely out of step with the rest of the world, with every other country taking a measured approach based on the science.

"Our customers will now be faced with uncertainty and chaos and yet again this a devastating blow for everyone who works in the travel industry."

The NHS has said more than one million people have booked an appointment for a booster jab this week after the public were urged to have the shot following the emergence of the new variant.

The speeding up of third jabs in England will happen no later than 13 December, bosses have said.

From that date, or earlier, the online booking system will be updated in order to allow people to book their booster jab three months after their second dose rather than six.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×