Travel bosses demand end to expensive Covid tests for Brits returning from holidays as Omicron ‘has already spread’
TRAVEL bosses have demanded an end to Covid tests for Brits returning from holidays to the UK because Omicron is "already here".
The often-costly measure has been branded as "rapidly out of date" and "pointless" by industry leaders.
The introduction of the tests earlier this month was described as a "devastating blow" to the travel industry, with aviation officials saying the rapid change in entry requirements has made it "impossible" for airlines and firms to plan ahead.
Currently people have to take a test two days before travel to England and an expensive PCR test on day two or before.
These regulations were imposed in an attempt to try and restrict the Omicron strain, which is now the dominant variant in Britain.
It comes as a string of hugely positive studies show Omicron IS milder than other strains, with the first official UK report revealing the risk of hospitalisation is 50 to 70 per cent lower than with Delta.
Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
The Sun's Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits' arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
But despite the positive news on the virus, travel plans will continue to be disrupted by restrictions - with testing and isolation expected to remain in place until the end of January.
The Government decided not to impose new Covid restrictions in, despite cases per day of upwards of 100,000, the health minister announced yesterday.
It has prompted baffled travel experts to question why transport tests designed to restrict it were still in place and damaging the industry.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline: "The evidence is not there now for such restrictions to be in place coming into the UK.
"The rules are lacking evidence, there is no justification for a pre-departure test to the UK anymore. No-one needs to monitor Omicron coming in – it's already here.
"The PM needs to remove the pre-departure test as a minimum and turn the day 2 into an easier lateral flow test.
A trade association for the testing industry, the Laboratory and Testing Industry Organisation added that they believe scrapping test could see the UK more vulnerable to new strains in the future.
A spokesman for the LTIO said: “Vaccination alongside testing provides the best protection against new and less benign variants than Omicron from entering the UK.
"We strongly believe that PCR tests are the best way to protect our population from the dangers of Covid especially to detect new variants that could be brought into the UK from those travelling from abroad.