Heathrow warns of ‘long way back for aviation’ after travel tests scrapped

Travel bosses say the scrapping of testing rules does not go far enough to help the sector

Heathrow Airport said the aviation industry still has a long way to go before it recovers from the pandemic. Reuters

Heathrow Airport says there is a “long way back for aviation” despite being given a major boost by the scrapping of some travel testing rules.

It welcomed the UK government’s decision to scrap pre-departure tests and post-arrival isolation for fully vaccinated travellers in time for the half-term break next month, but said a full recovery for the ailing sector was still nowhere in sight.

The UK’s busiest airport has suffered catastrophic losses because of the crisis and last year’s passenger numbers were almost 80 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels.

From Friday, pre-departure tests will no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers entering England and they will not have to isolate upon arrival while they await the results of a post-arrival Day 2 test.

“Although this is welcome news, there is still a long way back for aviation, which remains the lifeblood of the UK’s economy, supporting millions of jobs in all four nations,” a spokesman for Heathrow said.

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren struck a similar tone. He said ministers needed to do more to help restore confidence in travellers when booking.

“This will make travel much simpler and easier and means our customers can book and travel with confidence,” he said. “However, the government must now urgently take the final step towards restriction-free travel and remove the last remaining unnecessary tests for vaccinated travellers so flying does not become the preserve of the rich.”

Dean Kane tested positive for coronavirus during a flight changeover in Poland on December 27. He spent New Year's Eve in this government-run isolation centre. Photo: Dean Kane

Dean said he has had to boil water from the tap in his isolation room due to a lack of staff being able to deliver water at the facility

Catherine O'Farrell, pictured for a previous article, is stuck in Ireland and worried about her business back in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Irishman Dean Kane has been isolating in Poland after testing positive during a connecting flight back to Dubai. Photo: Dean Kane

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the industry body Airlines UK, said the change in travel restrictions comes at a “critical time” for the sector.

Companies are expected to experience a surge in demand for overseas holidays during the mid-term break in February.

“This is a hugely welcome move at a critical time in the booking season for passengers, and will provide a massive boost to those wanting to travel abroad or come to the UK this year,” Mr Alderslade said.

“Today marks an important step towards learning to live alongside the virus, helping passengers and the travel sector look ahead to what will be an all-important spring and summer season.’

On Wednesday the British prime minister announced a series of changes in the travel rules for England after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps pressured him to drop measures and help the travel sector recover.

From 4am on Friday, fully vaccinated people will not have to take a pre-departure test before coming into England and will not have to self-isolate while they await the results of their Day 2 post-arrival test, which can either be a PCR or lateral flow. The current rules stipulate that it must be a PCR test.

Unvaccinated travellers will still have to take a test before heading to England and self-isolate for 10 days after touching down. The requirements for day 2 and day 8 tests will remain.

Mr Shapps insisted it was the right time to roll back testing measures, despite huge Covid case numbers being declared each day.

“We think this is proportionate,” he told Sky News. ‘A lot of jobs depend on travel, a lot of jobs depend on tourism and we need to keep these measures in line with what’s going on with Omicron around the world. It is everywhere now, it’s the predominant strain of coronavirus.”

“We have pretty high levels of coronavirus here so it’s not like if you go abroad you’re necessarily going somewhere with higher levels, you may well be somewhere with lower levels. So we just didn’t see the reason to keep what were always temporary measures in place for a moment longer than was useful.”

The Welsh health minister said she would make the changes in line with England “reluctantly”.

Mr Shapps said the devolved administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland would also be following suit.

He said the Plan B measures introduced in England last month remain sufficient in the fight against Covid and insisted full lockdowns which have high costs for the economy, people’s jobs and mental health were not needed.

He said the set of rules which include mandatory face masks in indoor public spaces, a working from home order and Covid certificates for nightclubs “has been shown to be the right approach so far”.