Airports across the UK have called on the government to scrap passenger locator forms as the travel industry continues to witness a change.
This follows the UK's transport secretary Grant Shapps' announcement of a successful vaccine rollout.
According to Grant Shapps, "the current traffic light system will be replaced by a single red list of countries and territories, and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world from Monday 4 October at 4am."
"Testing requirements will also be reduced for eligible fully vaccinated travelers, who will no longer need to take a PDT when traveling to England from 4 Oct.
"From the end of October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers and those with an approved vaccine from a select group of non-red countries will be able to replace their day two test with a cheaper lateral flow test, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England," Shapps stated.
Shapps insisted that all passengers will still need to fill in a Passenger Locator Form ahead of travel. And anyone who tests positive will need to isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test but at no additional cost.
Meanwhile, Stewart Wingate, the CEO, Gatwick Airport has commended the changes witnessed and step taken. Saying, “this is a significant and welcome step towards recovery. Fully vaccinated passengers now have a larger choice of destinations and can book with more confidence in the months before Christmas and beyond – free from the need to arrange pre-departure tests before coming back into the UK. We know there is significant pent-up demand for travel and our staff, restaurants, cafes, and bars are ready to welcome back passengers over the coming months."
“We also welcome the news that Day 2 PCR tests will be replaced with the quicker and more affordable lateral flow tests, which will allow us to start catching up with our competitors in Europe and the US – where passenger numbers are already approaching pre-pandemic levels."
"However, we also hope that the remaining constraints including the passenger locator form can be removed soon and we continue to call for the slot rules to be reinstated to incentivize airlines, increase competition and provide passengers with greater choice and flexibility."
“Gatwick is doing everything it can to make travel as easy as possible and only yesterday announced that it is further subsidizing cut-price lateral flow tests for holiday-makers,” Wingate says.
Credit: Passenger terminal today
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