The race is on: which passengers will be first to benefit from easier UK travel rules?

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The first passengers to benefit from the reversal of the UK’s Omicron travel testing rules are already en route for London Heathrow.

Qantas flight QF1 took off from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory at 11.45am GMT (9.15pm local time).

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is scheduled to arrive at Heathrow at 5.05am GMT on Friday – barely an hour after the relaxed travel testing rules take effect.

A fully vaccinated traveller scheduled to arrive in England, Wales or Northern Ireland from 4am on Friday need not present a pre-departure test before being allowed on a plane, ferry or international train.

A post-arrival test is still needed, but they will not need to self-isolate.

The Qantas flight, which originated in Sydney and refuelled in Darwin, was the first to depart for the UK – but is not expected to be first to arrive.

The first should have been Virgin Atlantic flight 207 from Hong Kong to Heathrow, but it was cancelled because of the strict Covid rules in the territory. The carrier has axed all services on the route for at least a month due to what it calls “operational challenges”.

Instead, British Airways flight BA74 from Lagos is expected to be first, with a scheduled arrival time of 4.50am.

Flight BA78 from Accra touches down five minutes later.

At other airports, Qatar Airways from Doha to Gatwick is expected at 5.30am, while Ethiopian Airlines service from Addis Ababa to Manchester airport is predicted to touch down five minutes later.

But all these passengers will be beaten by those aboard the DFDS ferry departing from Calais at 3.35am local time (2.35am GMT), which is expected to dock in Dover just five minutes after the rule change.

Few tourists are expected to be on board, due to the travel ban imposed by France on the UK.

Among travellers who will arrive just too early to benefit from the easing of restrictions, the last airline passengers in  before the rule change are expected to be on board the Wizz Air flight from Tel Aviv to Luton, due in at 1.15am.