On Monday (27 September), Wales became the fourth and final home nation to confirm it will scrap the requirement for travellers to test negative for Covid-19 up to 72 hours prior to departure.

It means England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be aligned on pre-departure testing from 4 October when changes to the UK’s traffic light system and testing regime come into effect.

These include merging the UK’s green and amber lists to create a single "rest of the world" category which will sit alongside a red list, arrivals from which must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days upon arrival.

Those who are not fully vaccinated or who were vaccinated under an approved overseas vaccine programme will continue to have to take a pre-departure test.

Day 2 PCR testing rules, though, will differ between the four home nations. In England, the government plans to replace Day 2 PCR tests with lateral flow tests. It is hoped this can take effect in time for October half-term.

The Scottish government has said it will "reluctantly" reduce its Day two testing standard from PCR to lateral flow, although it also said it would await a final UK government proposal.

The Welsh government, meanwhile, said on Monday: "A decision on moving away from PCR tests is still to be made."

It comes after first minister Mark Drakeford last week voiced concerns about ending Day 2 PCR testing owing to the threat posed by Covid-19 variants.

The Northern Ireland executive is yet to confirm its plans for Day 2 testing.

The end of pre-departure testing has been widely hailed by travel leaders as an important breakthrough in efforts to reopen international travel, it being seen as a major factor stifling consumer confidence.