England to relax quarantine for vaccinated US, EU visitors

Bloomberg

The UK government is set to allow visitors from the US and the European Union to travel to England without needing to quarantine on arrival if they have been fully vaccinated.
The plan will allow American visitors, along with travelers from most EU countries, to enter the UK on the same basis as Britons who have received two Covid shots. UK residents are no longer required to self-isolate when returning from most medium-risk countries.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his senior team were due to discuss and finalise details of the policy at a meeting on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said. The change in policy could come into force as soon as next week, they added.
If the plans proceed as officials expect, they will deliver a significant boost to Britain’s aviation and travel sector, which has lagged the recovery in continental Europe.
American tourists on European holidays this summer have bypassed the UK to avoid quarantines. And while vaccinated Britons are now able to travel with less hassle to Spain or Portugal, EU residents haven’t been able to easily make the trip to see tourist attractions like the Tower of London.
While the UK government’s decision will ease the barriers to travel from the US, the Biden administration is not likely to reciprocate any time soon. Last week, the US government advised Americans to avoid traveling to the UK because of a surge in coronavirus infections.
“We want people to be able to come from the US freely in a way that they normally do. We’re talking to them the whole time,” Johnson said. “At the moment we’re dealing with a delta wave, the US is dealing with a delta wave, but be assured that we are on it the whole time.”

European Visitors
As Johnson’s government has eased restrictions in recent weeks, interest in foreign holidays has surged, especially for Britons aiming to visit neighboring European destinations.
Low-cost carriers such as Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc have added capacity, though most of the action is still in the EU. With a UK easing in the works, more relief is on its way.
“This is absolutely positive,” Wizz CEO Jozsef Varadi said in an interview, referring to EU-UK travel. “It’s a move that is long overdue and needed to happen. It makes sense for both parties.”
Shares of EasyJet, the most dependent on the UK among the three discounters, advanced 4.4% on Wednesday.
Passengers will also need to show proof of Covid status via so-called vaccine passports.