Published1 hour agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersBy Katy AustinTransport correspondentBrits travelling to Spain can enter the country without having to prove their Covid or vaccination status, after travel restrictions were dropped.Before, people needed to show they were fully-vaccinated, provide a negative Covid test or prove they had recently recovered.The drop in the remaining Covid restrictions comes as families prepare to head off on half-term holidays.Travel agents said a “final hurdle” for holidays had been removed.Other European destinations such as France, Italy and Greece lifted their rules prior to Spain, which is the most popular destination for UK overseas holidaymakers.The Spanish Healthy Ministry announced on Thursday that people entering from outside the European Union would no longer be subject to the controls, effective from Friday.Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the travel agent network Advantage Travel Partnership, said restrictions had been a barrier, particularly for people who were not vaccinated.”We saw other destinations where restrictions were eased earlier in the year, such as Greece, benefit from an overall increase in demand over the summer”, she said. Ms Lo Bue-Said described Spain’s move as “better late than never and good news”.It’s not the first time Spain has been relatively slow to ease its Covid rules. The requirement for children over the age of 12 to be double vaccinated to enter the Spanish mainland was only scrapped just before the February half-term, after tourism businesses warned that it was driving families to book trips to other countries instead.Many countries around the world including the US still have Covid entry rules in place.Travel firms have continued to report strong demand for bookings, despite the cost of living pressures affecting households, with Heathrow Airport saying it expects Christmas to be busy.However, it warned there was still uncertainty about the winter due to “growing economic headwinds, a new wave of Covid, and the escalating situation in Ukraine”. The industry had a difficult summer as demand for international travel bounced back strongly, but businesses found themselves struggling to cope amid staffing shortages.It still faces various challenges as it looks to recover, including in recruitment as the labour market remains tight.Elsewhere, the Port of Dover and Eurostar are in discussions with the French and UK governments about how a new EU border control system will work.The IT system due to come in next May, will require travellers to register their fingerprints and a photo when leaving the UK, but Dover is concerned that the registration process could cause queues.More on this storyDover summer travel warning over new border system29 September

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesThe transport secretary has confirmed that all remaining Covid travel measures will be scrapped.Currently, everyone travelling to the UK must complete a passenger locator form before they arrive. Travellers who are not fully vaccinated have to take a Covid test before departure, fill in the form, and book and pay for a PCR test after arriving. Grant Shapps confirmed in a tweet that these rules will end at 04:00 on Friday.His announcement means that passengers who are not fully vaccinated will no longer have to take Covid tests before and after travelling to the UK. The passenger locator form will no longer be necessary either.People planning an overseas trip will still need to be aware of other countries’ entry rules. Mr Shapps tweeted: “These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter.”When any new Covid strains appear in the future, the government said its default approach would be to use “the least-stringent measures” for restricting travel.Its “Living with Covid” plan said new measures at the border would only be considered in “extreme circumstances”. It said the UKHSA would closely monitor the prevalence and spread of Covid variants.What are the UK’s ‘Living with Covid’ plans? Scotland and Wales have agreed to follow England in scrapping the remaining coronavirus border measures.But Welsh Health Minister Eluned Morgan said she was doing so “reluctantly” – and was “extremely disappointed” that testing requirements and the passenger location form were being ditched.The Scottish government said consistency across the four nations was agreed because of the “negative impact of non-alignment on the tourism industry”.Testing requirements for fully-vaccinated arrivals into the UK were dropped in February. The latest move was welcomed by some figures in the travel industry, which has campaigned for the remaining rules to be dropped so businesses can take full advantage of strong summer holiday demand.Tim Alderslade, chief executive of trade body Airlines UK, said: “Today’s announcement sends a clear message to the world – the UK travel sector is back. “With travellers returning to the UK no longer burdened by unnecessary forms and testing requirements, we can now look forward to the return to pre-Covid normality throughout the travel experience.”A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “The removal of all remaining UK travel restrictions is the final important step towards frictionless air travel, helping to further restore consumer confidence as we welcome more customers back to the skies this spring and summer. “To uphold the experience of all travellers, it’s vital that the UK Government works closely with industry to ensure the UK border is ready for increasing passengers, as international travel ramps up.”Meanwhile, Eurostar’s chief executive Jacques Damas said the easing of restrictions would help the cross-Channel train operator’s recovery.”We hope and expect to see the UK’s approach replicated across our other markets in the coming weeks,” Mr Damas said.Challenges remainHowever, as Covid restrictions recede, other headwinds for the aviation industry are appearing.The price of jet fuel has soared as a result of higher crude oil prices. This adds to cost pressures on airlines, although some have been protected by their hedging strategies, whereby they purchased fuel in advance at lower prices.On Friday, the chief executive of Heathrow airport, John Holland-Kaye, said the recovery of aviation remained “overshadowed by war and Covid uncertainty”.Businesses will also be keeping a careful eye on whether consumers’ confidence to book is knocked by the war in Ukraine and rising household bills squeezing disposable incomes. Air France-KLM and Ryanair have both recently warned air fares will rise.More on this storyWhat are the UK’s ‘Living with Covid’ plans?Ryanair boss: Air fares will be higher this summerWhat Covid rules do holiday destinations have?