The travel industry is in disarray tonight over the announcement of new travel restrictions following the discovery of the super-mutant Omicron Covid strain in Britain.
The new rules were revealed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a Downing Street press conference this afternoon, where he appeared alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
Anyone who travels to the UK must now take a PCR test by the end of their second day after arrival, and remain in self-isolation until they have a negative result.
It is not yet clear when the rules will come into place as industry insiders demand further clarification.
Travel expert Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, told Mail Online: ‘This is terrible, terrible news for the industry.
The new rules were revealed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a Downing Street press conference this afternoon, where he appeared alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance
Travel expert Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency (pictured), said the new travel rules need ‘urgent clarification’
Britain has sequenced two cases of the Omicron variant in Nottingham and Chelmsford, Sajid Javid said today
Anyone who travels to the UK must now take a PCR test by the end of their second day after arrival, and remain in self-isolation until they have a negative result
‘We need urgent clarification from the Government about when these rules will come into force.
‘Travellers planning on coming to the UK are now in limbo. We don’t know if the rules will be in place from tomorrow morning or next week.’
He added that the measures were a ‘major set back’ for the industry at a crucial time of year.
‘Everyone in the industry is feeling the same, this is going to be a very, very tough period,’ he added.
‘This is going to knock confidence in the industry during the very important Christmas period.
‘And it’s all over a variant we do not yet have all the facts about.’
Mr Charles added: ‘There are always going to be new variants, the government must have a better system in place than relying on travel bans.’
The travel boss said pre-departure and on-arrival testing would be a more ‘sensible’ approach to tackling the threat of new variants.
The new rules also state that all contacts of those who test positive with a suspected Omicron case must isolate for 10 days regardless of vaccination status.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is expected to clarify the timescales of the new rules by Monday.
For those arriving to Britain, the day you land is deemed as Day 0. You must then perform a PCR test before the end of day 2.
So if you arrived on a Monday, the PCR must be taken before the end of Wednesday.
Previous travel testing rules specified that ‘day 2’ tests should be taken on or…
Read More: Travel industry fury as Boris Johnson announces new isolation rules but