Travel sector welcomes end of pre-departure Covid tests for England

PCR test requirement for arrivals to be lifted from 4am on Friday and follows calls for it to be scrapped

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The aviation and travel industry has welcomed the scrapping of pre-departure tests for people travelling to England, which it had claimed were unnecessary and hugely damaging to the sector.

Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday afternoon that the requirement would be lifted from 4am on Friday, along with the need for travellers to self-isolate on arrival until they receive a negative PCR test result.