THE OWNERS of Glasgow Airport have urged the Scottish Government to take a four-nation approach to international travel.

It comes as UK Government Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps announced that there would be no more amber list countries as of October 4 and people who are fully vaccinated will no longer have to take a pre-departure test.

The move means there will be green list countries and a single, reduced red list of destinations where passengers arriving in England will be required to quarantine in a Government-supervised hotel. Travellers will no longer be required to take a PCR test from the end of October and can instead take cheaper lateral flow tests.

Glasgow Times:

But the Scottish Government will keep coronavirus testing in place for those who are travelling abroad.

Derek Provan, Chief Executive of AGS Airports Ltd who own and operate Glasgow Airport said: "Today’s announcement to overhaul international travel rules may be significant, but the reforms detailed today are what we have been urging the UK Government to implement for months.

“The outgoing traffic light system was both costly and confusing. Not only did the data show it to be ineffective in terms of protecting public health or detecting variants of concern, but it has been extremely damaging to our industry which has been on the brink for the last 18 months.

“It was inconceivable to think 2021 would be worse than 2020 for aviation, however, that is the reality. Now that progress is being made to strip away the layers of complexity associated with international travel, we urge the Scottish Government to adopt a four-nations approach without delay.

“Moving forward we need government to work with the industry to help rebuild passenger confidence and, more importantly, restore the connectivity we have lost.”

Meanwhile the Scottish Government said it would drop the traffic light system but retain the requirement for pre-departure tests due to “significant concerns” about public health.

In a statement, they said: “A UK Government decision to implement proposals to remove the requirement for a pre-departure test in England and to use lateral flow tests on day two have not been adopted at this stage in Scotland due to significant concerns at the impact on public health.”

Glasgow Times:

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the Scottish Government “has concerns that the UK Government’s proposals to remove the requirement for a pre-departure test for some travellers will weaken our ability to protect the public health of Scotland’s communities”.

He added: “While we want to maintain a four-nations approach to these matters, we need to consider urgently their implications.”