Covid: Passenger locator forms ‘to stay for some time’ despite travel testing rules relaxed

Passenger locator forms will be required for international travellers for some time, the head of Heathrow Airport has predicted.

CEO of Britain’s busiest airport John Holland-Kaye said people need to get back to travel without the “hassle” of filling in the “complicated” paperwork but he admitted the passenger locator forms would be here for “some time yet”.

However, Mr Holland-Kaye said if the forms were the price to pay to “see loved ones” then it was a price worth paying.

Also, he praised the move to ditch “very expensive tests” which had previously been required.

He told Sky News: "We’re told by the Government that they are simplifying those, and within the next month or so we should see those becoming a little easier to fill out.

"We need to get back to where travel used to be, where you don’t have to fill out all these forms or have tests at both ends of the route.

"Now I think in reality, because Covid is going to be with us for some time, we’re going to have to live with these, if not for coming into the UK then certainly for going into other countries. It’s just going to be part of international travel.”

His comments comes after the Government confirmed Monday it would ditch the requirement for fully vaccinated travellers to test on day two.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said the move meant bringing back the “good old days” to travel.

He told LBC: “You will be able to come to this country, and if you’ve been fully vaccinated, in other words two vaccinations, you will not need to take any tests at all, either before you leave to come here or when you get back here.

"Of course, no quarantine. In other words, kind of back to the good old days."

Travel rules are also being eased for arrivals who are not fully vaccinated as they will no longer need to self-isolate from February 11 on arrival to the UK.

However, Mr Shapps added other countries were now requiring a third booster dose to qualify for the status of being fully vaccinated.

He urged people to get the third dose for travel. He said this summer, “if you want to travel, say go to Spain on holiday this summer, they are almost certainly going to require that booster jab”.