Day two PCR tests for travellers returning to England from non-red list countries will be replaced by cheaper lateral flow tests in time for October half-term.
Abta’s director of public affairs Luke Petherbridge said it would “encourage the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to adopt the same approach”. The three devolved governments have previously been aligning their approaches with England in recent months.
Petherbridge added overseas holidays should now be “much more accessible” following the change to lateral flow tests.
“Costly tests have been a huge barrier to people travelling, so we hope this will help make overseas holidays much more accessible,” he said. “Brits are desperate to catch up on their much-loved and much-missed foreign trips – with 46% of people looking to take a winter holiday.
“With the relaxed travel restrictions and majority of destinations open for travel, now is the best in a long time to book an overseas holiday.
Airport Operators Association chief executive Karen Dee said the change should “reduce the complexity of post-travel testing”. But she stressed airports wanted to achieve “test free” international travel.
“We urge testing companies to pass on the savings of using cheaper lateral flow tests in full to customers,” added Dee.
“Ultimately, aviation should return to normal, with no additional tests or other requirements. Great strides have been made in recent weeks, but we are not there yet.
“We will continue to work with the UK and devolved governments to achieve test-free travel in the future, just as our European competitors have.”
Julia Simpson, chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), added: “Finally, the government has listened and ditched costly PCRs for a cheaper antigen test. This will be a boost for UK travel and tourism, a sector that brought more than £237 billion to our economy in 2019.”
