All 11 countries have been removed from the government’s red list today, meaning travellers no longer have to face quarantining in a hotel.
But strict testing measures for all passengers arriving in the UK remain in place to help curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed that the red list policy will be maintained despite the fact no countries are currently on it, so any destination could be added to the list in the future if there’s high Covid risk.
Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are all the destinations which have been removed from the red list.
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The decision was taken as the measures were deemed “no longer proportional” since Omicron had spread significantly across the UK.
All travellers in quarantine hotels were told that they could leave at 4pm on Wednesday, around 12 hours after the requirement to self-isolate was dropped for new arrivals.
What are the current UK travel restrictions?
All travellers aged 12 and above must show a negative pre-departure test, either a lateral flow or a PCR, no more than 48 hours before departure before arriving in the UK.
All passengers will have to show the test, regardless of vaccination status.
After arriving in the UK, travellers must take a day two PCR test, which needs to be booked before your travel.
You must quarantine at home, or at the place you’re staying, while awaiting the result.
If the result is negative, you can end your quarantine, but if the test is positive you must self-isolate for 10 full days, with the day of your test counting as day 0.
The PCR test needs to be booked before you travel, and cannot be an NHS test.
Travellers must also complete a passenger locator form, which must be done in the 48 hours before your arrival.
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