Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Pippa Crerar & Gemma Jones

Changes to 'complicated' covid travel forms ahead of Easter Holidays

Tourists looking to get away for the Easter Holidays will be relieved to know that 'complicated' covid forms could be scrapped.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid backed the move to scrap coronavirus documents that Brits must complete before returning home in a change that is "fairly likely” to happen.

The changes are set to come about after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his 'Living With Covid' plans last week, reports The Mirror.

READ MORE: Next major covid rule changes and the key dates you need to know

A formal process would still have to take place, with ministers signing off the scrapping of the passenger locator form at a Covid meeting in the coming weeks.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is understood to have been pushing for the move to help the travel industry get back on its feet.

The PM's recent changes scrapped self-isolation requirements but did not include changes to international travel rules.

It means those arriving in the UK still have to complete a form.

But the Prime Minister hinted it could be ditched in time for the Easter break.

He was asked by Labour MP Ben Bradshaw why the “bureaucratic and irritating” documents were still needed when they aren’t by other European countries.

The PM responded by saying the form would be reviewed by Easter.

Tory MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the Commons transport committee, urged ministers to give the travel industry a “much-needed shot in the arm” by getting rid of the form.

Travel industry association ABTA said: “Given the relaxation of domestic Covid measures, we believe all Covid-related restrictions on international travel should be [axed] unless they serve a clear public health objective.

“While recent simplifications of the [form] have helped, the system for collecting passenger data is much more complex than that used by many other countries. It’s time to get people travelling again.”

The last time travel rules were eased for Brits was this month when Covid tests were ended for fully-vaccinated travellers.

Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.