Coronavirus testing for fully vaccinated travellers arriving in England will be axed, Boris Johnson has announced.
The Prime Minister did not confirm when the travel rules will be eased, but it is likely to happen before the February half-term break.
This will be a major boost for travel firms and families planning an overseas trip.
On a visit to Milton Keynes Hospital on Monday, January 24, Mr Johnson said: “What we’re doing on travel, to show that this country is open for business, open for travellers, you will see changes so that people arriving no longer have to take tests if they have been vaccinated, if they have been double vaccinated.”
Fully vaccinated arrivals must currently pre-book and take a post-arrival test from a private supplier.
This can be a lateral flow test, which typically costs around £19.
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.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will announce details of the new travel regulations in a statement in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, following a meeting of the Cabinet’s Covid-19 operations committee.
The changes come after the bosses of major airlines wrote to the Government demanding an end to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
In the letter, they asked that restriction-free travel was restored “at the very least” for those who are fully vaccinated.
The letter was signed by the heads of Ryanair, easyJet, Loganair, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Jet2, as well as the chief executives of holiday travel group Tui and trade body Airlines UK.
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