Prime minister Boris Johnson announced the move at a press conference this evening.
He said the closure of corridors from 4am on Monday will apply across the UK following conversations with the devolved administrations.
This will initially be in place for a month, although it will be kept under review and could be extended.
“This means if you come to this country you must have proof of a negative Covid test that you have taken 72 hours before leaving and you must have filled in your passenger locator form – your airline will ask for proof of both before you take off,” added Johnson.
“You may also be checked when you land and face substantial fines for refusing to comply.”
Anyone arriving in the UK must quarantine for 10 days or they have the choice of doing an extra test on day five to shorten the isolation.
He added that 3.2 million people across the UK have received vaccines.
Joanne Dooey, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA), said: “We are wholly supportive of measures taken to protect the health of everyone in the UK.
“There were few travel corridors left open for UK travellers, so we’ve been moving towards this state for some time now.
“The vitally important step that needs to be taken now is for the UK and Scottish governments to work with our industry to develop a robust strategy for the restarting of travel to and from the UK.
“We need a clear and credible route map for recovery which covers exactly what testing protocols will be and how testing will be managed. Any recovery will be complicated and lengthy but we need high level agreement of the processes for this.”
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “Travel corridors were a lifeline for the industry last summer and the government were right to bring them in when they did.
“But things change and there’s no doubting this is a serious health emergency and Ministers need to act to keep borders safe and the public protected. We therefore support this latest measure, on the assumption that we will work with government – when the time is right – to remove these restrictions when it is safe to do so and start to open up our sector again, to support the UK’s economic recovery.”
