According to multiple reports, the United Kingdom Government is expected to scrap post-arrival COVID-19 testing for the fully vaccinated by the end of the month. Airlines, airports, and passengers would universally welcome such a change in policies. Fully vaccinated passengers currently have to take a rapid antigen test within two days of arriving in the country.
Almost two years have passed since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. While giant leaps have been made in treating and preventing COVID-19, one thing is still lagging behind. International travelers still face a patchwork of fragmented COVID-19 rules depending on their origin and destination.
Scrapping post-arrival tests?
According to The Independent, as initially reported by The Sunday Times, the UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, is expected to announce post-arrival COVID-19 tests have been scrapped for fully vaccinated arrivals. This would make travel far more accessible and cheaper for many.
The current testing scheme has been seen by many as a moneymaker for private businesses. While the current policy of requiring rapid antigen tests is undoubtedly better than the previous PCR requirements, such tests can still cost more than a return trip on the UK’s low-cost carriers.
The Independent reports that a source told The Sunday Times,
“We are looking at removing all Covid tests for vaccinated travellers by the end of January, which is likely to coincide with the review of the plan B measures on 26 January.”
A boon for travelers
The Independent reports that a Booster vaccine will be required to meet the requirements of not needing a day two test. This may still cause a headache for those unable to secure a booster vaccine due to foreign vaccination policies. However, for those who have been fully vaccinated and boosted, travel would almost return to how it was before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Take a return trip from London to Frankfurt as an example. Fully vaccinated individuals traveling to Germany only need to fill in a passenger locator form. No tests before or after arrival are required. Paired with such a policy being launched in the UK, eligible passengers could theoretically undertake an entire trip without needing to take a COVID-19 test.
Day 2 arrivals tests – for those fully-jabbed – to be dropped for #UK arrivals by end of January it appears. Dropping all tests for the fully-jabbed will boost confidence further and save travellers from high test costs; I hope the Passenger Locator Form goes too. @ThePCAgency
— Paul Charles (@PPaulCharles) January 15, 2022
The current rules
Since the UK relaxed its Omicron-related travel rules just over a week ago, fully vaccinated individuals have already had a much easier time traveling. At 04:00 on January 7th, pre-departure testing was scrapped, as was the need to quarantine until receiving the result of a day two test. Two days later, the rules changed to allow cheaper rapid antigen tests on day two.
Unvaccinated arrivals are still subject to stricter travel rules, including at least five days of quarantine and two PCR tests unless covered by a limited range of job-related exemptions.
Would you welcome the end of post-arrival testing for travelers to the UK? Let us know what you think and why in the comments.
Source: https://simpleflying.com/uk-expected-to-drop-arrival-covid-19-tests-for-fully-vaccinated/
