Scotland to align with UK International travel testing regime

27/09/2021
Energy Secretary Michael Matheson

TESTING for inbound international travel is to be eased and will align with the UK following consideration of the logistical, health and economic implications, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson has said.

Pre-departure tests for fully vaccinated travellers will be removed. Travellers from non-red list countries who have been fully vaccinated in a country that meets recognised standards of certifications will no longer be required to provide evidence of a negative test result before they can travel to Scotland. 

For practical purposes, Scotland will also align with the UK post-arrival testing regime. Details for the UK are still being finalised and we will continue to engage with the UK Government ahead of confirmation as soon as possible.

Separately, in consultation with Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Government will consider how additional safeguards and surveillance of inward travel can be implemented to guard against the importation of new variants. This will be at no cost to travellers. Details will be set out in due course.

Last week, the Scottish Government announced how restrictions put in place to protect public health have been substantially revised to make travel simpler, with green and amber classifications merged while the red list is retained for those countries deemed to have high COVID19 case rates or variants of concern. 

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said:

“We have concerns that the UK Government’s proposals to remove the requirement for a pre-departure test for some travellers could weaken our ability to protect the public health of Scotland’s communities.

“However, we also recognise that not having UK wide alignment causes significant practical problems and creates disadvantages for Scottish businesses. Also, if non alignment led to travellers to Scotland choosing to route through airports elsewhere in the UK, the public health benefits of testing would be undermined in any event.

“We have urgently considered all these implications, weighing any possible impact on the public health and the logistical realities. After liaising at length with stakeholders from the aviation sector to understand the impact of adopting a different approach in Scotland, we have reluctantly concluded that, for practical reasons, alignment with the UK is the best option.

“The new proposals make clear pre-departure tests will no longer be a requirement. We also intend to align with the UK post-arrival testing regime. The detail of that is still being developed with lateral flow tests being considered and we will engage further with the UK Government on those plans. Details will be announced at the same time as the UK.

“Lastly, the importance of guarding against new variants entering the country can’t be ignored. We will therefore be considering, with Public Health Scotland, the implementation of additional public health surveillance around international travel. We would intend this to be at no cost to travellers.”

Joanne Dooey, president of The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA), the professional body for travel agents and the travel sector in Scotland says,

“The removal of the pre-departure, in-destination test and the change to an initial lateral flow test on arrival back in Scotland is hugely welcome, but the delays which Scottish travellers experience with the confirmation of these changes does nothing to instil confidence to travel to and from Scotland.

“There’s unlikely to be a rush to the travel agents this weekend to book for October breaks during the school holidays, as the timing means that most families will be unable to organise the time off work now to go on a family break.

“Those who did want to travel have already booked flights departing from English airports. Travel agents have also recently experienced clients who are already booked on a holiday departing from Scotland, requesting that their return flight is changed to a flight returning to England. So, the impact won’t be immediate but these changes to bring us into line with England could be the start of recovery for the beleaguered travel sector.

“Our outbound travel industry is an important sector for the whole Scottish economy supporting 26,000 jobs and delivering almost £1.5 billion in economic spend. Going forward, it needs support and it needs consistency.” The SPAA, founded in 1921 is celebrating its centenary and is the world’s oldest organisation representing travel agents. It currently has 120 member companies, all their associated agencies across Scotland including many home workers, and 92 associate members across the travel and transport industry.

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