Green light for holidays as France taken off amber-plus
Fully vaccinated passengers returning to the UK from France will no longer need to quarantine, following a widespread change to the traffic light travel system.
From Sunday, France will be downgraded from amber-plus to amber – bringing it in line with the rest of Europe and the United States, where fully vaccinated travellers can land in the UK without going into quarantine.
The UK Department for Transport said it decided to scrap the controversial amber-plus rating after a drop in the proportion of cases of the Beta variant in France.
Europe minister Clement Beaune had previously told French media he could see “no scientific or public health” reason for the UK’s decision to place the country in its own category last month.
The decision to ease restrictions for France follows a U-turn on plans to introduce an “amber watchlist” of countries at risk of turning red earlier in the week. The proposals were dropped following a backlash from senior Cabinet Ministers, Tory MPs and travel industry experts, who warned the plans would devastate the travel industry and wreak havoc with supply chains.
The government also announced several changes to the traffic light travel system.
From Sunday, seven more countries will be added to the green list – easing travel restrictions for people returning to England from Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
People travelling to England from these countries will not need to self-isolate, even if they haven’t been vaccinated, but will need to be able to provide a negative test before and after they travel.
India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will be moved from the red list to the amber list, opening the countries up to quarantine-free travel for Britons who have had both doses of the vaccine.
Mexico, Georgia and the French overseas departments of La Reunion and Mayotte will be added to the red list – requiring a 10-day hotel quarantine on return to the UK.
In a surprise move, the government also announced an increase in the cost of mandatory hotel quarantine. From 12 August, the cost for single adult travellers will increase from £1,750 to £2,285, and £1,430 for a second adult to “better reflect the increased costs involved”.
The green watchlist, which is designed to give travellers notice where green status is at risk, remains in use, and is unchanged.
The decision comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he wanted to take a “balanced” approach to travel and acknowledged that holidays were important to Britons who “yearn to go abroad this year”.
He said: “We’ve got to balance that against the need to protect our country against the influx of new variants. We’ve got a balanced policy but clearly we have the benefit now of the double-jab system.”
Despite the significant easing of restrictions, travel bosses and MPs expressed concern about the “limited” expansion of the green list and “sky-high” cost of PCR tests.
In a series of tweets Conservative MP Huw Merriman, chairman of the Commons Transport Select Committee, criticised “expensive” PCR tests for travel as an “unnecessary rip-off” and a “barrier to affordable travel”.
Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, said: “Alongside the continuation of expensive testing and a much smaller-than-hoped-for expansion of the green list, this is yet another blow to the sector and families desperate to get away, and means the UK continues to open up far slower than the rest of Europe.”