UK lifts all testing rules for vaccinated travellers

Vaccinated travellers can enter Britain without taking any coronavirus tests, after the government scrapped one of the final restrictions imposed over the past two years in response to COVID-19. British residents and visitors who have had at least two doses of an approved coronavirus vaccine now only need to fill out a passenger locator form before traveling to the U.K.

Unvaccinated people still have to take tests both before and after arriving but no longer need to self-isolate until they get a negative result. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the U.K. “now has one of the most free-flowing borders in the world — sending a clear message that we are open for business.”

Airlines and other travel firms hailed the change as a lifeline after two years of severely constricted travel. Andrew Flintham, managing director of travel group Tui UK, said there was “a huge pent-up demand for international travel,” and people were rushing to book getaways for the February school break and April’s Easter holiday. Gatwick, London’s second-busiest airport, said that it plans next month to reopen the second of its two terminals, shuttered since June 2020.