Up, up and away

YOU could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from the aviation and travel industries as ministers finally liberalised Britain’s draconian travel restrictions.

For months, the Mail has advocated tearing up the complex and monstrously expensive testing rules passengers had to follow on leaving and re-entering the UK.

It has been the most onerous regime in europe and a huge competitive disadvantage to UK carriers, as Britons stayed at home rather than face the blizzard of regulations.

From being the busiest european hub airport, heathrow fell to tenth last month, after a 71 per cent drop in traffic. Airlines are gasping for breath. Yesterday, they were at last handed a lifeline. The amber list is finally being scrapped, leaving just red list countries and the rest.

For the fully vaccinated travelling to nonred list destinations, all PCR testing is being abandoned, and the only test still required will be the cheaper lateral flow, within 48 hours of returning to Britain.

In addition, eight countries are coming off the red list, including Turkey. The effect was instantaneous, as stocks throughout the travel sector shot up.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps deserves credit for having battled against ultra-cautious Cabinet colleagues and Sage scientists to achieve this breakthrough. We fervently hope it heralds a more complete opening up of society. No more talk of future lockdowns, mandatory vaccine passports, or God-given rights to work from home.

There is much to do to repair our beleaguered economy. The recovery can and must start here.