London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 28, 2025

Covid travel tests axed in England and Scotland for fully vaccinated

Covid travel tests axed in England and Scotland for fully vaccinated

People arriving in England or Scotland from abroad will no longer have to take Covid tests if they are fully vaccinated, it has been confirmed.

In a boost for families, the changes will come in from 4am on 11 February, in time for the half-term break.

Rules have also been eased for unvaccinated travellers, who will no longer have to take a day eight test or self isolate.

However, they will still need pre-departure and day two tests.

And everyone arriving in England and Scotland, regardless of vaccination status, will need to fill in a passenger locator form - although these will be made "easier" to complete, said UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet said whether they will change their testing rules, although they are expected to follow suit.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Shapps said the move would save families about £100 on visits abroad, as well as boost the beleaguered travel industry.

"Today I can confirm that our international travel regime will now be liberalised as part our efforts to ensure that 2022 is the year in which restrictions on travel, on lockdowns and limits on people's lives are firmly placed in the past," he said.

"From 4am on February 11, and in time for the half-term break, eligible fully-vaccinated passengers arriving in the UK will no longer have to take a post-arrival lateral flow test.

"That means that after months of pre-departure testing, post-arrival testing, self-isolation, additional expense, all that fully vaccinated people will now have to do, when they travel to the UK, is to verify their status via a passenger locator form."

Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the measures were "extremely welcome" for the tourism and aviation sectors.

But he said "further surveillance" would be needed across all UK nations to catch variants if they emerged.

'It's one less thing to worry about'

Dan from Surrey is planning to travel to Italy on a skiing trip with his son in the half term holiday.

"I was geared up for having to do all the tests and the forms that I needed to," he says, adding that today's news was "a welcome change".

"It's one less thing to worry about," he says. "It's a bit less cost, but also it's a bit less stress. So overall, hopefully we can focus on having a nice holiday instead of worrying about the paperwork."

Dan and his family have only travelled abroad once since the pandemic started, but he hopes that as the rules ease, planning holidays will become more straightforward.

"I'm quite happy there are fewer barriers, it makes me feel more confident going away from that point of view," he says. However, safety remains his number one priority: "If a new variant came along or something changed and the rules had to be revisited, I for one would understand that."

Mr Shapps also confirmed that from 3 February, 12 to 15-year-olds in England will be able to prove their vaccination status via the digital NHS pass for international outbound travel.

It comes after families have struggled to prove their children's vaccination status when trying to enter countries including Spain, Italy and France.

Mr Shapps also told MPs the UK is set to recognise vaccine certificates from 16 further nations, including countries like China and Mexico.

This will take the total number of recognised countries and territories to 180.

Boost for travel sector


The moves were welcomed by the travel and tourism industry, which has been one of the sectors hit hardest by coronavirus lockdown measures.

Airline Virgin Atlantic said: "The removal of all testing for vaccinated passengers is the final step in moving towards frictionless air travel, allowing passengers to reconnect with loved ones and business colleagues.

"It restores customer confidence and demand will be boosted in a critical booking window for the travel industry."

Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said the airline would "now look ahead to what we believe will be a strong summer".


He said: "It is clear travel restrictions did not materially slow the spread of Omicron in the UK and so it is important that there are no more knee jerk reactions to future variants."

However, the Laboratory and Testing Industry Organisation, the trade body for the industry, warned rules had been lifted too quickly.

Its chairman Tom Watson said: "We have consistently backed relaxing unnecessary restrictions, but the only way that our country can avoid hard lockdowns is by maintaining a robust Covid testing regime to quickly discover new variants."

Currently, fully vaccinated passengers, who have had two doses (or one dose of the Janssen vaccine), and under-18s no longer need a pre-departure test two days before travelling to the UK.

However, within 48 hours of arrival, everyone aged five and over - or 11 and over in Scotland - must take a lateral flow test (LFT), or a more expensive PCR test.

If they take an LFT and it is positive, they must self-isolate and take an NHS PCR test to confirm the result.

Vaccinated travellers also have to fill in and submit an online passenger locator form no more than 48 hours before arriving, even if they are just passing through the UK.

But Mr Shapps said the form, which had been "complex and difficult to navigate", would now be made simpler and travellers would have an extra day to fill it in.

Earlier in January, the government scrapped the need for fully vaccinated travellers coming to England to take a Covid test before they travel.

However, arrivals who are not fully vaccinated must take a pre-departure test and two post-arrival PCR tests, which are more expensive than the lateral flow version.

They must also self-isolate for 10 days.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
×