The remainder of the covid travel restrictions that are in place in the UK may be dropped in a matter of days, reports have revealed.
The UK Government is deciding whether to scrap passenger locator forms ahead of the Easter holidays — one of the busiest times of the year for tourists seeking to travel internationally.
A meeting is expected to take place next week, during which ministers will debate whether to remove testing regulations for unvaccinated passengers.
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As reported by the Daily Record, the dropping of the remaining restrictions would mean that travel would return to normal in the UK.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is reportedly eager to broach the removal of passenger locator forms as it would provide a boost to the tourism sector this Easter.
The rest of restrictions will be debated in a scheduled committee meeting of “Covid-O” (Covid Operations) cabinet ministers next week, the Daily Mail reports.
Speaking to the publication about the removal of the forms, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said: "It's a shambles. They should ditch it, it's completely irrelevant. Nobody collects them, nobody checks them or follows up on them.
"They were designed to pretend that the politicians were doing something to protect people."
As part of current travel restrictions, only people who are vaccinated can come into the UK without needing to take a test.
Passenger locator forms need to be filled out within 72 hours of travel by anybody coming into the UK, though European countries such as Greece and Belgium have already scrapped the requirement.
The requirement for unvaccinated arrivals to self-isolate was dropped last month, but they still need to take a rapid pre-departure within 48 hours of travel and a PCR test on Day Two.
In Scotland, revised plans for tackling covid will see the end of all legal restrictions in Scotland from 21 March.
The legal requirement to wear a face mask will end - something that has already been scrapped in England.
Physical distancing measures in pubs and shops will also end on March 21, as will the legal requirement to retain customers' contact details.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “The introduction of travel restrictions was necessary to protect the roll out of the booster programme and reduce the chances of unsustainable pressure being placed on the NHS over the winter.
“The restrictions are subject to review on a four nations basis and we will be able to say more in the near future. We will not keep restrictions in place any longer than is necessary.”
