Testing to remain a requirement until new year, Shapps says

The transport secretary said in a tweet that all current measures remain in place “and will be reviewed in the first week of January”.

The announcement will be a setback to hopes of a Christmas and new year holiday sales uplift, with airlines and operators already dumping cheap fares and packages onto the market.

Earlier, before the onset of the Omicron variant, aviation and maritime minister Robert Courts had said a review of regulations could come before Christmas, but hopes of this have now been dashed.

However, the industry can hope for some lifting of requirements to coincide with the start of peaks in 2022.