Current Travel Restrictions Could Ease Quickly

Following the concerns around the current travel restrictions (December 9th), UK government health secretary, Sajid Javid, has claimed that these current travel restrictions could ease “in the days and weeks ahead”. 

Sajid Javid explained that if the Omicron variant becomes the dominant strain of Covid as the government expects, then the tightened travel restrictions put in place in late November and early December will be unnecessary and may subsequently be removed.  

He also stated that removing these reimposed travel restrictions is the best way that the government can assist the travel industry.  

In response to a question, while speaking in the house of commons, Sajid Javid said, “I am sure my honourable friend will agree that the best support we could provide for the transport sector right now is to remove these recent restrictions.  

“I am confident that, as we learn more about this variant and if, as is expected, over time it becomes the dominant variant, we can start removing those restrictions very quickly.” 

The current travel restrictions that could be removed are as follows: 

• The requirement for PCR tests on day-2 of return to the UK (this would be returned to lateral flow tests on day-2)  
• The requirement for pre-departure tests before returning to the UK 

This essentially means that we would be returning to the softer restrictions put in place on the 24th of October (you can find out more detail about the restrictions from the 24th of October in our article). Though the reintroduction of the current travel restrictions has been a concern for travellers and the travel industry alike, the prospect of their temporary stay is great news.  

As always, whatever exciting changes we see ahead, we always recommend that travellers keep up to date on the destination policies in place for the lovely country you plan to travel to. You can do this by visiting the Foreign Travel Advice page or talking to your travel agent who will also keep you up to date on anything that affects your holiday booking (if you’d like to find out more about why you need a travel agent for destination policies, check out our article). 

So, if you’re looking forward to booking your next great holiday now, don’t forget to get in contact with a travel business registered with PTS providing 100% financial protection through trust. Or, if you’d like assistance choosing one of our lovely PTS members to book with, you can contact PTS directly at 0207 190 9988. 

And if you’d like to learn more about your consumer protection with PTS and how the Package Travel Regulations protect your holiday booking, check out our pages.