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UK tightens travel restrictions to tackle new coronavirus variant

Ministers have announced new restrictions on entry to the UK in response to the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus and will reintroduce pre-departure testing for all arriving passengers from next week.

Sajid Javid, the medical secretary, said passengers would need to present proof of a negative test result before departure, regardless of their immunization status, as of 4am on Tuesday.

Nigeria will be added to the tourist “red list” on Monday morning, becoming the 11th African country on the list.

People arriving from red-listed countries must quarantine in a government-approved hotel at their own expense for 10 days.

“Based on the most recent data, we are taking further action to slow the entry of the Omicron variant,” Javid said Saturday night.

Ministers have dramatically tightened travel rules over the past week in response to the variant, which was first identified in southern Africa, causing a wave of unrest in the tourism industry.

As well as the return of the red list, arriving passengers must take a PCR test within two days of arrival and must self-isolate until a negative result is received.

Airlines, airports and other travel agencies responded with frustration about the return to pre-departure testing, which they see as a significant deterrent to leisure travel.

British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said the news was a “devastating blow” and customers “will now face uncertainty and chaos”.

“The reintroduction of testing for entry into the UK, on ​​the basis of the current isolation regime and PCR testing on arrival is completely out of date compared to the rest of the world, with every other country being take a science-based, measured approach,” he says.

Karen Dee, chief executive officer of industry body the Airport Operators Association, said she expected “most of the remaining limited travel demand” to “disappear”.

Dee called for government support to help businesses get through another period of reduced travel demand.

“Tourism and aviation are the only sectors experiencing any operational restrictions in response to the Omicron variant,” she said.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, supported the expanded red list but criticized the new testing requirements.

“It is too early to reach millions of passengers and industry before we see the full data. We have no clinical evidence,” he said.

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