The United Kingdom will allow fully vaccinated Covid-19 visitors from the European Union and the United States to enter its territory without the need for quarantine from next week, the British transport minister said Wednesday, in what will be a major boost for airlines.
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The UK travel industry has sharply criticized the British government for being too slow to open up to travelers, saying it has squandered its global advantage in administering the Covid-19 vaccine and given the EU the upper hand in attracting tourists.
The British government said in a statement that as of August 2, travelers inoculated with U.S. and EU-approved vaccines will not have to quarantine on arrival on British soil. This will cover the UK’s nine largest markets by volume of visitors before the pandemic.
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The opening of England is likely to be followed by the opening of the rest of the territories that make up the United Kingdom.
However, travelers will still have to take a Covid-19 test at origin and shortly after arrival in England, British Transport Minister Grant Shapps wrote in a post on the social networking site Twitter.
The United States remains closed to British visitors, so for transatlantic airlines such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, planes will mainly carry U.S. citizens to England.
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