Holiday rules for fully vaccinated people have been further relaxed today.
Passengers who’ve received two doses of the vaccine will no longer need to take a pricey PCR test when they land in the UK.
The lab-based swabs have been replaced with a quicker and cheaper lateral flow test in time for the half-term getaway.
Double-jabbed Brits won’t need to take a test before they leave the country either.
Instead, travellers will be able to take a single lateral flow test when they return and simply send a picture of the result to the provider.
The changes are the latest step in a broad relaxation of restrictions in recent weeks, which has also seen the traffic light system scrapped.
Strict hotel quarantine remains in place for the reduced ‘no go’ list, which is now down to just seven countries.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps, said: ‘The change in rules for post-arrival tests will give passengers more options and faster results, just in time for many half-term holidays.
‘It’s thanks to the success of our vaccination programme that we can make this switch, giving the industry and consumers a much-needed boost.’
Lateral flow tests for international travel must be purchased from a private provider as NHS Test and Trace lateral flow tests cannot be used for international travel.
Bookings for lateral flow tests opened on Friday and can be purchased through the private providers listed on GOV.UK.
As of Saturday afternoon, there were 25 providers on the government website and prices ranged from £19 to £39.
Passengers who fail to send a picture of their test result could be fined up to £1,000.
Passengers who test positive will need to take a free PCR test to confirm the result and isolate.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: ‘Testing and self-isolating if you are positive remain crucial steps to managing the pandemic and stopping the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
‘It is also critical that those who have positive Lateral Flow Tests when returning to England go on to get this checked through a NHS Test & Trace PCR.
‘This way we can continue to monitor new variants and stay on top of the virus.’
Restrictions have been tightened on unvaccinated tourists, with mandatory 10 day home quarantine and PCR tests required for all destinations, regardless of what list they are on.
Anyone travelling on to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Island or the Isle of Man in the 10 days after arrival in England, must follow the rules for testing and quarantine in those places.
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