Reuters.- The United Kingdom will allow visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from the European Union and the United States to enter its territory without the need to quarantine from next week, the British Minister of Transport said on Wednesday, in what will mean a big boost for airlines and travel companies.
The UK travel industry has harshly criticized the British government for its excessive slowness in opening up to travelers, stating that it has squandered its global advantage in administering the Covid-19 vaccine and given an advantage to the EU to attract tourists.
The British government said in a statement that from 2 August travelers inoculated with vaccines approved by the United States and the EU will not have to quarantine upon arrival on British territory. This will cover the top nine UK markets by visitor volume before the pandemic.
It is likely that the opening of England will be followed by that of the rest of the territories that make up the United Kingdom.
However, travelers will still have to be tested for Covid-19 at source and shortly after arrival in England, British Transport Minister Grant Shapps wrote in a post on the social network Twitter.
The measure will help airlines and travel companies increase their business volumes after 16 months of restrictions, which have led to serious financial difficulties for many of them.
Anglo-Spanish holding company IAG’s shares were up 3%, while EasyJet’s were up 4% and Wizz Air’s were up 5%.
The quarantine for fully vaccinated Britons returning to the UK from medium-risk countries was lifted on July 19, helping kick-start the travel recovery, but continued rule changes over the past two months remain uncertain about travel in practice.
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In addition, the United States remains closed to British visitors, so in the case of transatlantic airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, the planes will transport mainly American citizens to England.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared on LBC radio station on Wednesday that he wants American citizens to travel “freely” to England, stating that he is discussing the possibility of a tourist corridor with the United States, which would mean the resumption of the traffic with this country.
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