Foreign holidays with flights from Stansted Airport in Essex will be able to resume “safely and sustainably” from May 17 under new government plans.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced a “framework” for resuming overseas leisure travel, which includes requiring all arrivals to take pre-departure and post-arrival coronavirus tests.

Mr Shapps said the plan will ensure "we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine rollout" and create "peace of mind" for passengers and the industry.

Charlie Cornish, chief executive of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) - which runs Stansted - has previously warned that "hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds worth of economic value hang in the balance", while expressing hope for international travel to return at the earlier opportunity.

A traffic light system has also been confirmed to manage foreign travel, with people from 'green' countries not required to self-isolate.

Those coming from 'amber' destinations must still quarantine for 10 days, while 'red' country travellers must pay to enter a quarantine hotel.

Further relaxation of travel measures could continue from June 28, with further reviews of the rules taking place no later than July 31 and October 1.