HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

The UK has announced that from Friday, March 18, 2022, all travel restrictions will be lifted.

On Monday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, made the announcement that means from 4 am on March 18, anyone travelling to the United Kingdom from Spain or indeed any other country, will no longer be required to provide a negative Covid test, or complete a passenger locator form.

Mr Shapps said “I said we wouldn’t keep travel measures in place for any longer than necessary, which we’re delivering on today, providing more welcome news and greater freedom for travellers ahead of the Easter holidays.

I look forward to continuing to work with the travel sector and partners around the world to keep international travel moving”.

The new travel rules will apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, which means that anyone travelling to the UK from Spain will no longer need to take a pre-departure test or a day 2, post-arrival test.

With the Easter break season looming, many planning to visit the UK will see this as good news and welcome the changes. However many experts have conveyed their concerns on the decision to lift all travel restrictions when for the first time since January, the daily Covid infection rate has begun to rise again in Britain.

In response to this the UK’s Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid said “As we learn to live with Covid-19, we’re taking further steps to open up international travel once again ahead of the Easter holidays.

“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants and keep a reserve of measures which can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe.

“We can remove these final restrictions thanks to the incredible success of our vaccination programme which has seen more than 8 out of 10 adults across the UK boosted.” Mr Javid concluded.

As if this wasn’t enough good news, Heathrow Airport has also announced that from Wednesday, March 16, it will no longer be mandatory for passengers to wear a face mask.

The airport statement said “Effective from Wednesday 16 March, we’ll remove the requirement for wearing face coverings at the airport. We still strongly encourage both colleagues and passengers to wear them, particularly when they come into close contact with others, but this will no longer be mandatory.

“Passengers may still be required to wear a face covering on board their flight and should check the airlines’ requirements before travelling.”

Airlines British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2 and Tui have also said that "under certain circumstances", they will also drop the face mask rules. However, if you are flying into Scotland or Wales, the wearing of face masks is still mandatory.

British Airways Chief Operating Officer, Jason Mahoney, said “From Wednesday March 16th, customers will only be required to wear a face-covering on board our flights if the destination they’re travelling to requires it.” This suggests that the wearing of face masks will be required when flying back to Spain but maybe not when flying back to the UK.

It is still mandatory to wear a face mask in Spanish airports, so it is still best to carry one with you.

This latest move comes as part of the UK government’s living with Covid plan, which has seen restrictions steadily lifted within the country as well as in regards to travel and entry requirements.

The UK Government website states that ‘The government will remove the remaining COVID-19 international travel restrictions for all passengers from 4 am Friday 18 March’.

• From 4 am 18 March no one entering the UK will need to take tests or complete a passenger locator form.
• The remaining managed hotel quarantine capacity will be fully stood down from the end of March, making the UK one of the first major economies to end all COVID-19 international travel rules.
• Contingency plans will be put in place to manage any future variants of concern (VoCs)

The Government website also declares that "Given the current state of the pandemic and a move towards global travel volumes returning to normal, the remaining managed hotel quarantine capacity will be fully stood down from the end of March."

Up until March 18, these travel rules still apply.

If you’re unvaccinated and travelling to the UK before March 18th you must still:

• Take a Covid-19 test in the two days before you travel
• Book and pay for a PCR test to be taken after you arrive
• Complete a UK passenger locator form in the three days before you arrive

When travelling to Spain from the UK, restrictions are still in place, Spain still only allows entry to fully vaccinated travellers from the UK, or those who are in possession of a Covid-19 recovery certificate that is dated within the last six months.

If more than 270 days have passed since your last vaccine dose, then you must show you have had a Covid-19 booster too.

British holidaymakers are now allowed to travel to Spain with children who are aged between 12 and 17 years of age, even if they are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Residents of Spain, EU citizens and family members of EU citizens are exempt from these rules.

Anyone travelling into Spain, regardless of where they reside or what their vaccination or recovery status is, must complete a Health Control Form.

Source

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-covid-19-travel-restrictions-removed-in-the-uk

Image Credit: Downing Street - Flickr