Cut-price carrier EasyJet is lobbying the government to get all COVID tests required by arrivals into the UK to be scrapped before Christmas.
EASYJET continues to lobby the government to scrap all testing requirements ahead of the winter-peak booking season. Chief commercial officer Sophie Dekkers told a World Travel Market debate on the future of travel that a “lack of consistency” of testing protocols across international markets was hampering the aviation sector’s recovery. The current law stipulates that travellers who are not fully vaccinated, or have recently visited a red list country, must take a lateral flow test before they can enter the UK.
However, in France, non-vaccinated travellers need to self-isolate for seven days upon arrival and take a PCR test once their quarantine period ends.
“It makes it very difficult. We’re seasoned travellers and even I was asking if I want to travel just after Christmas or not because of the extra stress. I know [the travel industry] are all aligned in urging the government to talk about removing the requirement for testing some time in the new year, but we’re saying can we make this announcement in December.
“The key booking period is Christmas Day, Boxing Day and just after Christmas. If the announcement was made before then that would be brilliant as people would be able to book with a lot more confidence than they have done. We’re lobbying for that decision to be made before Christmas and take advantage of that peak booking period,” said Dekker, while also pointing out the UK government had made more than 50 changes to Covid-related travel restrictions during the pandemic.
If successful, this would mean British expats travelling back to the UK before Christmas would be spared the hassle and expense of a COVID test.
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