The UK government says it will remove 11 African countries including Nigeria from its travel red list.
Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are the other countries to be delisted.
The UK in November following the emergence of the Omicron variant placed these countries on its travel red list.
It also suspended the issuance of visitor’s visa to Nigerians looking to come into the UK.
Currently, all UK arrivals from red list countries must pay for and self-isolate in a pre-booked, government-approved hotel for 10 days.
They must also take Covid tests within 48 hours of setting off for the UK and PCR tests within two days of their arrival.
Some arrivals have already paid thousands of pounds to stay in government-approved quarantine hotels, and there have been complaints of chaotic organisation and inedible food during their stays.
The travel industry had also warned the restrictions were hurting business.
Head of trade group Airlines UK, Tim Alderslade said emptying the red list made complete sense but government should also scrap pre-departure and day two tests for all arrivals.
“If the red list isn’t necessary, given that Omicron is established here at home, then neither are the costly emergency testing and isolation measures imposed on even fully vaccinated travelers, which again put us completely at odds with the rest of Europe,” he said.
