UK government announces new testing plan for high-risk international arrivals

The UK government has announced a new strategy for managing internationals arrivals into England during the Covid-19 pandemic. Passengers arriving from high-risk countries (those not on the travel corridor list) must self-isolate upon arrival. They will then take a test on day 5 of landing, either at home or at a testing site. If they test negative, they can exit self-isolation. Those being tested must use a private provider to avoid overloading the NHS Test and Trace scheme, and will be advised to book the test before arriving into the UK if they wish to avoid self-isolation. A list of private providers can be found on the UK government website. In addition, the UK government has announced that it will provide financial support to commercial airports equivalent to their business rates costs, but capped at £8 per site. This scheme, which will be open to ground handlers and commercially licenced airports who served commercial passengers in 2019, will be open for applications in the New Year. The scheme was put together by a Global Travel Taskforce, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently seeking feedback from the travel and tourism industry. You can send feedback via the Tourism Alliance to: Kurt.janson@tourismalliance.com