A set of new, more onerous travel rules for UK travellers and visitors are set to make holidays more complex this festive season.
From today, vaccinated travellers wishing to enter the country must take a pre-departure test and present a negative result, as well as taking a PCR test – rather than a previously permitted lateral flow – within two days of arrival. They must also self-isolate until a negative result is returned.
The addition of a pre-departure test for double-jabbed passengers will apply to those aged 12 and over, travelling to the UK from any foreign country except Ireland and Ethiopia.
During the past two weeks, the government also added 11 countries to the formerly emptied red list, including South Africa, Botswana and, most recently, Nigeria.
Leaders and officials in red-listed countries expressed outrage at the “selective” listing of southern African countries, when omicron is now present in dozens of countries around the world.
Yesterday Nigeria’s high commissioner Sarafa Tunji Isola described the travel bans, by countries including the UK and US, as travel “apartheid”.
Follow all the latest travel updates below:
Hong Kong pilots stuck in ‘perpetual state of quarantine’
Pilots flying into Hong Kong have claimed they are stuck “in a perpetual state of quarantine.“
The city has some of the toughest restrictions for inbound travellers – including those flying the planes.
One pilot with Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong flag carrier, reported spending 150 days so far this year in isolation.
“It’s almost a certainty that I’ll be resigning in the spring… I’m leaving without an actual job and just resigning,” another Cathay pilot told the BBC.
“I would say, probably, 80 per cent of those that I fly with are actively looking for work elsewhere. It’s all we talk about.”
Helen Coffey7 December 2021 09:19
48 hours or more? Confusion over testing window
Many travellers have reported confusion over the timing of pre-departure tests before travel to the UK, which are required once again from today.
For clarity: the new rules state that the test must be taken on the day of departure, or one of the two preceding days. The “48-hour” rule mentioned by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, does not exist.
So for a Wednesday flight from the US to the UK, arriving the following morning, you could test on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. For a 9pm flight on Wednesday, you could take the test at 9am on Monday – 60 hours before departure.
Simon Calder7 December 2021 08:17
In case you missed it: what are today’s new rules?
Today, new testing rules for British travellers and those visiting the UK come into effect.
Announced over several updates during the last week, they include the reintroduction of PCR tests for the fully vaccinated on return to the country, self-isolation while day two testers wait for results, and the addition once more of pre-departure tests for all travellers from all but two countries
Confused? We took a deep dive into the new rules and exactly what they mean for travellers:
Simon Calder7 December 2021 07:43
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s travel liveblog, where we’ll be following all the latest news and updates.
Lucy Thackray7 December 2021 07:37
