The replacement of PCR travel testing with lateral flow tests is supposed to make overseas travel cheaper, but some firms are charging up to £150 for LFTs and a significant number are charging £50 or more.
Looming vaccine mandates in the U.S. do not appear to be nudging workers into getting jabbed as quickly as officials had hoped. The agency responsible for screening air travellers says 40% of its workforce isn't jabbed.
PCR Covid tests for travel will be scrapped from October 22nd, in time for half-term holidays – but only for those who have been fully vaccinated.
Just seven countries are left on the Government's 'Red List' after 47 countries were removed in what has been described as one of the biggest reopenings of overseas travel since the start of the pandemic.
Holidaymakers may soon have to enter a video call while doing a lateral flow test upon arriving back in Britain because the Government is concerned that people will otherwise lie about their results.
New rules for overseas travel will see the 'Green' and 'Amber' list countries merged – meaning unvaccinated travellers will have to test upon returning from former Green countries.
Up to 45 countries could be removed from the travel 'Red List' this week, leaving just nine subjected to the toughest rules, as the Government says travel should not be "unnecessarily restricted".
Brits returning from abroad will still be forced to take expensive PCR tests (even if they've been fully vaccinated) until at least the end of October, despite the scrapping of the 'traffic light' travel system.
Up to 24 countries are expected to be moved from the Red List to the Green list later this week, but a new travel system is being devised which would be based purely on vaccination status.
More than 300,000 arrivals from 'Amber List' countries are suspected to have broken quarantine rules between March and May – close to a third of all arrivals from these destinations in this time.
