Holiday bookings surge in England after travel rules simplified

In England, holiday bookings have surged since the government announced the simplifying of travel rules.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the travel traffic light system was being replaced with a single red list. Also, fully vaccinated people will no longer need a pre-departure test before returning from non-red list areas.

Travel firms said they had already seen a surge in bookings and expected a busy weekend.

Mr Shapps on Friday announced that eight countries are being removed from the red list, including Turkey, Pakistan, the Maldives, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya.

Mr Shapps also announced that from October travellers returning to England will no longer have to take a PCR test two days after arrival. Instead, they can take the quicker and cheaper lateral flow tests.

Huw Merriman, chairman of the Commons transport select committee, who previously criticised PCR tests for being too expensive, welcomed the rule change. He told BBC Breakfast that it would make foreign travel simpler, more cost-effective and reflected the UK's high vaccination rate.

He further said that it would be "interesting" to see if there would be some form of the registration requirement for lateral flow tests.