The UK government has announced plans to reduce the travel quarantine period by implementing privately paid testing on arrival and will launch a global travel taskforce to investigate the best approach ¡°to open up international travel and boost our businesses¡±.

The taskforce will be jointly chaired by the secretaries of state for transport and health and social care and will consider:

• how a testing regime for international arrivals could be implemented to boost safe travel to and from the?UK
• what steps can be taken to facilitate business and tourist travel through innovative testing models and other non-testing means
• more broadly, what steps can be taken to increase consumer confidence to support the recovery of international travel

The Department for Transport said it will include looking at the feasibility of proposals based on a single test taken after a period of self-isolation, provided by the private sector and at the cost of the passenger. The taskforce will work with medical experts to better understand when a test should be taken based on the progression of the disease. The taskforce will also work closely with the private testing sector to ensure that testing for international arrivals does not impact on?NHS?capacity.

The taskforce will also explore alternative testing models, including pilots with partner countries to ascertain whether self-isolation could be undertaken pre-departure.

The government said it had been working extensively with clinicians, health experts and the private testing sector on the practicalities of testing international arrivals.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: ¡°The current measures at the border have saved lives. Our understanding of the science now means we can intensify efforts to develop options for a testing regime and help reinvigorate our world-leading travel sector.¡±

He added: ¡°This new taskforce will not only help us move towards safer, smoother international travel as we continue to battle this virus but will also support global connectivity ¨C helping facilitate more Covid-secure travel whilst protecting the population from imported cases.¡±

The group will consult closely with partners from the aviation, travel, healthcare and testing sectors as well as the devolved administrations to implement measures to support the recovery of the travel sector. The taskforce is expected to put forward their initial recommendations next month.

Four industry leaders - easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye, Manchester Airports Group CEO Charlie Cornish and Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss - have issued a joint statement on the announcement.?

They said, ¡°Today¡¯s announcement is a step in the right direction by the UK Government to restart the economy and protect thousands of jobs across the country. We support the decision to opt for a single test, private sector-led, passenger-funded approach, that does not impact on the NHS in any way."

They added: ¡°But travellers need a firm commitment that a comprehensive testing regime will be implemented in early November. A test on day five, which the government¡¯s own conservative evidence said would be ¡®highly effective¡¯ and which they¡¯re already doing in Germany, should be the starting point.

¡°We encourage the government to take a lead in moving to pre-departure testing, as well as the approval of new testing technologies, as soon as possible. Without a rapid move to testing, the UK will fall even further behind our competitors and the economic recovery will fail to get off the ground."

Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association (BTA), said, "Today¡¯s announcement of a task force charged with looking at a testing model for international travel is long overdue. The BTA has been calling for months for airport testing to be introduced.

"Testing trials in other markets have demonstrated high levels of accuracy and effectiveness. The British travel industry will only survive if the task force acts swiftly. It must take concrete action to introduce testing in weeks, not months. As the representative body for business travel, we urge the global travel taskforce to consult with us, and for testing to then be safely introduced without further delay," he added.

ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer said the taskforce needs to focus on decisive and urgent action, "not only on rapidly introducing a testing regime, but also on moving to a regionalised quarantine approach and lifting the global advisory against travel - returning to providing travel advice for individual countries based on the risk to a traveller in destination."

Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, who heads the Quash Quarantine campaign said: ¡°It would be substantial progress if ministers announce their intention for a 50 per cent cut in the quarantine period for travellers, to just seven days plus a test.

¡°If a travel taskforce is created to research and suggest the best outcomes for November, then it is better to have workable, longer-term solutions recommended by experts than a rushed policy which won¡¯t instil more confidence now.¡±