Transport secretary Grant Shapps on Monday (14 March) confirmed passenger locator forms and inbound testing would be scrapped from 4am on Friday (18 March).
Jet2holidays and Jet2.com chief executive Steve Heapy said the announcement "marked international travel finally returning to normal" almost two years after the onset of the pandemic.
"The removal of needless forms and ineffective testing regimes means that customers can at long last enjoy hassle-free travel, just like they did before the pandemic," he said.
"With Easter just around the corner and summer fast approaching, this announcement comes at the perfect time. Since restrictions started to be eased at the beginning of the year, we have experienced strong, sustained demand and the complete removal of forms and requirements will boost that demand even further."
Heapy was among several airline industry chiefs to welcome the news on Monday afternoon, with others describing it as a "breakthrough moment".
Sutton Coldfield-based independent travel agency, Sutton Travel, tweeted it was "massive news for the travel industry", adding: "Long overdue and very much welcomed. Let’s get travel moving again."
UKinbound chief executive Joss Croft called the decision "the real beginning of recovery for the country’s tourism industry", adding he believed it would give international consumers the confidence to book a holiday to the UK.
Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association, said the removal of passenger locator forms "will oil the wheels of the UK economy".
"It will make business travel more frictionless, stimulating trade and reducing the £2.5 billion-a-week impact our economy still faces from Covid travel restrictions," he added. "Business travel demand is returning, and today’s news is another vital step in that recovery."
