Thousands of travellers entering the UK today will benefit from the country’s less onerous restrictions, which came into play at 4am this morning.
From that time, fully vaccinated arrivals will have swerved the requirement to present a negative Covid test before departure.
They will still have to take a post-arrival PCR test on the day they enter the UK or the following two days – but they need not isolate while awaiting the result.
From Sunday at 4am, rules will ease even further, as double-jabbed travellers may swap this “day two” PCR test for a cheaper lateral flow.
The travel industry has welcomed the change to the travel testing rules, with a surge in holiday bookings expected in the coming weeks.
As many travel companies reported a surge in enquiries and website traffic, Kuoni’s CEO Derek Jones predicted that travel will be “90 per cent back before the end of spring”.
Follow all the latest updates below.
Cruise line cancels eight sailings due to Covid restrictions
A major cruise line has cancelled eight sailings in response to tighter travel restrictions introduced in the wake of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Norwegian Cruise Line cited “ongoing travel restrictions” and “Covid related circumstances” when announcing it was axing future itineraries.
“Our first priority is the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit,” the brand said in a statement.
Helen Coffey7 January 2022 11:28
Israel lifts UK travel ban
Israel has removed the UK from its red list for travel, lifting a travel ban that has been in place for nearly a month.
“Starting tonight (Thursday to Friday, midnight 07.01.2022), all countries will be removed from the list of red countries, subject to the approval of the Government and the Knesset’s Constitution Committee,” Israel’s Ministry of Health announced yesterday on Twitter.
“Despite the change, it should be noted that in many countries around the world the morbidity situation is higher than in Israel, and therefore it is advisable to avoid reaching these places unnecessarily as much as possible,” the Ministry added.
Lucy Thackray7 January 2022 10:43
Propeller smashes through cabin window after bird strikes plane midflight
A bird struck a plane’s propeller on Monday, causing it to disintegrate and smash through one of the cabin windows.
The Airlink Jetstream JS-41 was running a charter flight from Johannesburg to Venetia Mine, South Africa, on 3 January when the incident happened shortly before landing, the airline reported.
According to an Airlink statement, none of the passengers or crew were injured and pilots were able to land safely, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage.