Tag: international travel

All COVID-19 travel restrictions removed in the UK

‘Reluctant’: Scottish concerns over lack of border control measures

The UK government is to remove the remaining COVID-19 international travel restrictions for all passengers from 4am on Friday 18 March – despite rising numbers of Covid cases.

  • from 4am on 18 March no-one entering the UK will need to take tests or complete a passenger locator form
  • remaining managed hotel quarantine capacity will be fully stood down from the end of March, making the UK one of the first major economies to end all COVID-19 international travel rules
  • contingency plans put in place to manage any future variants of concern (VoCs)

The government will remove the remaining restrictions on international travel for all passengers ahead of the Easter holidays, the Transport Secretary has announced.

As one of the first major economies to remove all its remaining COVID-19 travel restrictions, this is a landmark moment for passengers and the travel and aviation sector.

From 4am Friday 18 March, all COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form (PLF) for arrivals into UK, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated. This change, therefore, removes the need for unvaccinated passengers to take a pre-departure test and a day 2 post arrival test.

This step reflects the decisions taken by the government, as set out in the Living with COVID plan, and the success of the UK’s vaccine and booster rollout, with 86% of the population having received a second dose and 67% of the population with a booster or third dose.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The UK is leading the world in removing all remaining COVID-19 travel restrictions, and today’s announcement is a testament to the hard work everyone in this country has put in place to roll out the vaccine and protect each other.

“I said we wouldn’t keep travel measures in place for any longer than necessary, which we’re delivering on today – providing more welcome news and greater freedom for travellers ahead of the Easter holidays.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the travel sector and partners around the world to keep international travel moving.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As we learn to live with COVID-19, we’re taking further steps to open up international travel once again ahead of the Easter holidays.

“We will continue monitoring and tracking potential new variants and keep a reserve of measures that can be rapidly deployed if needed to keep us safe.

“We can remove these final restrictions thanks to the incredible success of our vaccination programme, which has seen more than 8 out of 10 adults across the UK boosted.”

To ensure the protection of public health, the government will maintain a range of contingency measures in reserve, which would enable it to take swift and proportionate action to delay any future harmful variants of COVID-19 entering the UK should the need arise.

In future, the government’s default approach will be to use the least stringent measures, if appropriate, to minimise the impact on travel as far as possible – given the high personal, economic and international costs border measures can have – and the contingency measures will only be implemented in extreme circumstances.

Given the current state of the pandemic and a move towards global travel volumes returning to normal, the remaining managed hotel quarantine capacity will be fully stood down from the end of March.

Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, said: “Today’s announcement sends a clear message to the world – the UK travel sector is back. With travellers returning to the UK no longer burdened by unnecessary forms and testing requirements, we can now look forward to the return to pre-COVID normality throughout the travel experience.

“We’re grateful for the timing of the announcement as we prepare to welcome back passengers this Easter and summer, for which we know there is huge pent-up demand, and for the UK’s leadership in being the first major aviation market to remove all remaining restrictions. The time to return to the skies – to enjoy all that makes aviation and international travel great, for families and businesses – is now.

Karen Dee, Chief Executive of Airport Operators Association, said: “A return to restriction-free travel is good news for passengers and should allow for aviation to take significant steps towards recovery.

“People should feel encouraged to book their long-awaited holidays, trips to see relatives and friends abroad they haven’t seen for a long time and travel to rekindle business ties with other countries.”

 Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, today’s announcement marks international travel finally returning to normal.

“The removal of passenger locator forms and testing regimes means that customers can at long last enjoy hassle-free travel, just like they did before the pandemic.”

With Easter just around the corner and summer fast approaching, this announcement comes at the perfect time, the government says. Since restrictions started to be eased at the beginning of the year, we have experienced strong, sustained demand and the complete removal of forms and requirements will boost that demand even further.

Additionally, UKHSA will continue to closely monitor the prevalence and spread of harmful variants and keep international data under review.

While there will be no border health measures on arrival in the UK from 18 March, other countries are at different stages in the pandemic and many still require passengers to comply with requirements.

Travellers should continue to check GOV.UK travel guidance including Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice to keep up to date with other countries’ entry requirements.

Passengers are also encouraged to carefully check booking conditions for flexibility in amending bookings prior to buying tickets. People will continue to be able to access their vaccine and recovery records through the NHS COVID Pass to use when travelling overseas.

The Scottish Government expressed concern over the lack of border control measures and – with the other devolved administrations – called on the UK Government to maintain some form of border surveillance.

However given the negative impact of non-alignment on the tourism industry, alignment was reluctantly agreed on a four nation basis.

These changes only apply to incoming travellers. People should continue to check gov.uk for the latest information on the requirements in other countries when travelling abroad.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: “These measures significantly open up international travel and were agreed on a UK wide basis despite the Scottish Government raising concerns over the lack of border controls.

“However, we recognise the benefits of acting on a four nation basis and this will bring a high degree of normality back to travel and is extremely welcome for Scottish tourism, the aviation sector and travellers alike.

“There will be continued surveillance by the UK Health Security Agency to monitor for developments of concern and a contingency toolkit is being progressed which will enable an agile and rapid response in future to any changes.

“This could include tailored restrictions where appropriate and people may wish to continue to observe sensible measures while travelling such as frequent hand washing and respecting social distancing.”

First Minister will give a Covid update toMSPs at Holyrood later today.

International travel restrictions eased as Scotland follows suit

Following agreement at a cross-UK meeting yesterday, testing requirements for fully vaccinated people arriving in Scotland are to be dropped and further work will be done on a new surveillance system to monitor the border.

Testing will no longer be a requirement for all adults who have completed a full course of an approved vaccine, usually at least two doses. Children under the age of 18 continue to be treated as fully vaccinated.

Travellers will still need to fill in passenger locator forms and face coverings will still be required at Scottish airports in line with wider health advice.

Non vaccinated travellers will still be required to take pre-departure tests and a PCR test on or before day two – but the requirement for isolation will end – and they will no longer have to take a day eight test.

The measures were agreed by the Scottish Government following engagement with all four nations and will protect the travel and tourism sectors north of the border.

The UK Government announced their intention to ease restrictions for England at the weekend and the other UK nations have now stepped into line.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: “These measures will significantly open up international travel and were agreed on a UK wide basis.

“The measures will be extremely welcome for the Scottish tourism and aviation sectors, encouraging travel from our airports.

“While this is a positive step which will be welcomed by many we believe further surveillance measures will be necessary across all nations – as intelligence will help in terms of variants of concern. It was agreed further work to take this forward will be carried out over the coming weeks.”

The new measures come into effect at 4am on 11 February.

Further information on other countries’ requirements is available in UK Government international travel guidance.

Scotland eases restrictions on international travellers

From today (Friday) people travelling to Scotland from abroad who are fully vaccinated or under the age of 18 will no longer need to take pre-departure Covid tests, and will also no longer be required to self-isolate on arrival until they’ve received a negative result.

Travellers in this group will still need to take a test on or before day 2 after arriving in the UK – which can be a lateral flow device rather than a PCR test from Sunday.

Anyone who tests positive on their lateral flow test will need to isolate and take a free confirmatory PCR test.

The new measures apply across the UK after agreement between the UK Government and the three devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Pre-departure Covid tests, the requirement to self-isolate and mandatory PCR tests were re-introduced in December to help stem the spread of the Omicron variant, but are now seen as less necessary because Omicron is now the dominant strain in the UK.

In addition, Ministers have agreed to approve vaccine certificates for a further 16 countries and territories from 0400 on 10 January to allow quarantine-free travel to Scotland. The red list of highest risk countries will remain unchanged with no countries currently on the list.

All four nations are also discussing what the requirements should be for border travel in the future.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: “Given the rapid spread of Omicron last year it was essential that we took immediate steps to protect public health in Scotland, particularly with regards to international travel.

“We still have significant concerns over Omicron, but we recognise that, now it is the most dominant strain in Scotland and across the UK, it is sensible to review the measures currently in place.

“We also fully understand the impact of the restrictions on staff and businesses in the travel and aviation sectors and these changes demonstrate our commitment not to keep measures in place any longer than necessary.

“However, people still need to be extremely careful when travelling and to remember that both our and other countries’ COVID-19 requirements can change at short notice as things can evolve very quickly.

“People should therefore ensure they have travel insurance and carefully check their booking terms and conditions, as well as ensuring compliance with the latest regulations for the country being visited.”

Red List no more!

The final seven countries have been removed from the international travel red list, meaning travellers to the UK from those destinations will no longer have to stay in hotel quarantine for 10 days on arrival.

The decision was made on a four nation basis and will take effect at 04:00 on 1 November. It affects arrivals from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

In addition vaccine certificates from a further 35 countries and territories will be recognised to allow quarantine-free travel to Scotland. Going forward this list will be reviewed on a regular basis.

Despite no countries remaining on the red list from 1 November, the policy is continuing and some managed quarantine capacity will stay in place in Scotland in order to react to any change in risk assessment that would see a country added to the red list. 

Transport Minister Graeme Dey said: “Today’s decision is a further sign of the success of the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme and will enable the travel and tourism sector to take another step back towards normal operations.

“However, the pandemic is not over. The situation will be closely monitored and regularly reviewed and If the situation demands it we will not hesitate to re-impose restrictions on international travel to safeguard the health of our citizens and protect Scotland’s recovery.”

UK Transport Grant Shapps said: “We have been able to do this now because the variants of concern that we have been tracking are no longer of concern to the chief medical officers.”

UK’s new simplified travel system takes off today

  • new simplified travel system with a single red list and the rest of the world comes into force from 4am this morning
  • fully vaccinated travellers from over 50 countries and territories have simpler, cheaper rules, with just a single post arrival test needed
  • changes come as UK government welcomes fully vaccinated residents of over 50 countries and territories who can travel like fully vaccinated UK travellers

From 4am today (Monday 4 October 2021), the UK’s new travel system comes into force with countries and territories categorised as either red or the rest of the world.

The new simplified travel system also means that eligible fully vaccinated passengers and eligible under-18s returning from over 50 countries and territories not on the red list, can do so without needing to complete a pre-departure test (PDT), a day 8 test or enter a 10-day self-isolation period, making it easier for those travelling – whether that’s to see friends and family, or on business trips.

As announced last month, the new rules also mean that from later in October eligible fully vaccinated passengers with an approved vaccine and recognised certificate from a country not on the red list will be able to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England. The government aims to have this in place for when people return from half-term breaks.

Anyone testing positive will need to isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test, at no additional cost, which would be genomically sequenced to help identify new variants.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We are accelerating towards a future where travel continues to reopen safely and remains open for good, and today’s rule changes are good news for families, businesses and the travel sector.

“Our priority remains to protect public health but, with more than 8 in 10 people now fully vaccinated, we are able to take these steps to lower the cost of testing and help the sector to continue in its recovery.”

Also from today, under-18s from the over 50 countries whose vaccination status the UK recognises will not need to present a negative PDT before travelling to England. This applies regardless of their vaccination status.

All under-11s, regardless of where they are travelling from, are already exempt from pre-departure testing for arrival in the UK. If children aged 11 and over are not travelling from one of the 50-plus countries and territories where vaccines are recognised, they will be required to follow the same rules as for unvaccinated passengers.

From today, the UK is expanding it’s vaccinated policy to a further 18 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Canada. The recognised vaccines are Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca (including Covidshield), Moderna and Janssen (J&J).

This builds on the UK government’s successful pilot phase with Europe and the US, and brings the total number of countries in scope of the policy to over 50, with more countries and territories being added in the coming weeks.

Those eligible must have a document from a national or state-level public health authority that includes certain information including name, date of birth and vaccination details, as set out in guidance on GOV.UK.

The UK government has maintained it would take a phased approach to recognising vaccines administered by other countries and territories, building on the success of the pilot with the US and Europe.

Fully vaccinated residents in other countries not yet part of the inbound policy, as well as those partially vaccinated, will still have to take a pre-departure test, PCR tests for day 2 and day 8 after arrival, and self-isolate for 10 days, with the option to test to release after 5 days.

The UK government is continuing to work with international partners as we seek to more regularly expand the policy to further countries and territories.

All arrivals will still need to fill in a passenger locator form ahead of travel. Travellers should continue to check GOV.UK travel guidance including Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice before, during and after travel to keep up to date with entry requirements and ensure compliance with the latest COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 regulations for the country being visited.

Passengers should also carefully check booking conditions prior to booking.

The Scottish Government has ‘reluctantly’ agreed to adopt the same system.

Travel restriction on France lifted

India also turns amber in latest update to international restrictions

Arrivals from France to Scotland will no longer need to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated under the latest review of travel restrictions.

The step to realign France with the rest of the EU is possible due to a reported fall in the country’s Beta variant case rate. The latest review of international travel regulations has also moved India from the red travel list to amber.

Spain remains on the amber list but travellers are advised to be cautious as investigations continue into a new variant originating in South America and now present in Spain.

It is recommended passengers choose a PCR test prior to departure from Spain, rather than other available tests such as lateral flow, to give greatest assurance before travelling.

The latest changes come into effect at 4am on Sunday (8 August) following consideration of analysis by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC).

The countries moving from the red to amber are India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Georgia and Mexico, as well as the French overseas territories of Réunion and Mayotte, have moved to the red list which means travellers returning to Scotland will have to stay in managed isolation for 10 days.

In line with current guidance, individuals should not travel to red list countries on holiday, or for any leisure purposes.

In light of a decision taken by the UK Government, which manages contractual arrangements on behalf of the four nations, the price of a stay in managed isolation is also increasing from £1,750 to £2,285.

The Scottish Government will review existing hardship and welfare arrangements for travellers in managed isolation to ensure they remain suitable following this change.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: “These latest changes make it clear that international travel remains challenging.

“Recent relaxations to travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people were due to the huge success of the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme.

“It is vitally important we protect that progress through continued vigilance on importation, and we continue to urge caution given the risks caused by variants of concern.” 

The latest changes are:

Amber to Green:

Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania, Norway.

Amber to Red:

Georgia, Mayotte, Mexico, Réunion. 

Red to Amber:

India, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain.

The cost of managed isolation has increased to £2,285 for a first adult and £1,430 for a second adult in a room. The price for children remains at £325.

UK travel testing system at risk of collapsing when mass travel restarts, Which? warns

Some passengers arriving in the UK are having to extend their quarantine or pay for additional Covid tests as private labs are failing to deliver results on time, Which? has found, raising concerns about the capacity of the UK’s travel testing system weeks before international travel is set to re-open. 

Currently, anyone arriving in the UK (unless exempt) must quarantine for a mandatory 10 days and take a PCR test on day two and day eight of their quarantine. These tests typically cost between £160 and £200, but can cost over £500. Travellers must receive negative results for both tests to leave quarantine after day 10.

However, social media and review sites have been flooded with complaints about test result delays, with a Facebook group for people suffering problems with the system amassing around 1,500 members, and Which? has also heard from travellers who did not receive their test results within 10 days.

Without test results, travellers face having to pay hundreds of pounds for additional tests or stay in quarantine for longer than they need to, potentially causing problems for those who cannot work from home.

The consumer champion also understands that at present, only four private test providers out of more than 500 on the government’s list of providers have been accredited – Nationwide Pathology, Source Bioscience, Oncologica and Eurofins Forensic Services. Of those four, only Nationwide Pathology and Oncologica offer day two and day eight test kits, raising concerns about oversight of the test providers. 

With mass travel set to resume next month, Which? is concerned that the travel test system – which is already struggling to handle demand when international travel is restricted – is at risk of being overwhelmed, and potentially collapsing when restrictions are lifted. 

Erkal Taskin, who returned from Turkey after visiting his ill father in early April, told Which? that he didn’t receive his day two test kit from Anglia, a government-listed test provider, until he had been in the UK for a week. 

Only after he contacted Anglia through Twitter and Which? responded to his tweets did it promise him a refund. It finally gave him his day two result 15 days after he had arrived in the country, and he still has not received his day eight result.

Anglia apologised for the problems, and described the case as “an extreme outlier even in terms of the small number of cases where our client has had some processing or fulfilment issues.”

Erkal added: “I wasn’t sure when I could leave my house and there was no one to ask. I ended up waiting for so long before I could go back to work, which was a huge problem.” 

Another person complained on Trustpilot about a different provider, claiming that after they didn’t receive results for their day two test, they paid for a ‘Day Five Test to Release Kit’ – which would have allowed them to end their quarantine early on receipt of a negative result – but said “now on day nine, [we] still have no results, so [it was a] waste of £110 plus £175.” 

While some providers have blamed delays with Royal Mail deliveries, Royal Mail told Which? there have been no reported delays in its network related to use of the company’s priority post boxes for managing travellers’ test results.

Oncologica, one of the largest laboratories that has partnered with many government-listed test providers, apologised on its website for delays and said there has been an “unprecedented increase in Covid testing enquiries and kit orders received since government travel rules were introduced”.

Nationwide Pathology also apologised on its site for “large scale disruption to the delivery of both kits and samples”.

Despite travellers failing to receive their Covid test results on time, many have not been offered refunds. Both Oncologia and Nationwide Pathology said they did not guarantee test results within 10 days, with the latter claiming guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care means that it doesn’t have to provide refunds “where there’s no issue with the testing service”. 

Under the proposed traffic light system, arrivals from ‘green’ countries must take day two tests, and those from ‘amber’ and ‘red’ countries must take day two and day eight tests, which will mean hundreds of thousands more people rely on the testing system. 

Which? is urging the government to urgently address the problems currently affecting the PCR testing market with regard to availability of information, accreditation, pricing and accessibility of tests, as well as the poor quality of service by some providers. It must also ensure there are effective consumer protections in place for travellers in the event of any problems with testing, ahead of reopening travel after 17 May. 

Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said: “The UK’s travel testing system can’t cope with demand, even when relatively small numbers of people are travelling. It’s clear the system could buckle under the pressure when mass international travel restarts and hundreds of thousands more people are reliant on it. 

“Travellers shouldn’t have to shop around for something as crucial as a test provider – they simply need a service that is accessible, reliable, and delivered on time. It is critical that the Government addresses issues with testing ahead of restarting international travel, and ensure that travellers are not left to the mercy of poor quality providers or unreliable services when trying to do the right thing in following government requirements to travel safely.”

Oncologica told Which? it can process up to 40,000 Covid-19 tests a day and that it hadn’t yet reached capacity. A spokesperson said: “Postal service quality is outside our control; however, we make customers aware of the possibility of shipment delays arising from postal deliveries.

“This can relate to sample returns indicating they have been returned “delivered” in the Royal Mail tracked postal system, whereas in fact samples may not yet have been delivered to Oncologica and only have arrived at a Royal Mail depot, which can take up to 24 hours to deliver onto us. In the vast majority of cases, our customers experience no delays and our kits and results are supplied in a timely manner.”

It said that it couldn’t comment on claims by third party test providers that they’d received its results late.

Nationwide Pathology said: “We recognise the significant frustrations that UK International Arrivals are currently facing and we all are working extremely hard to make the process as user friendly as possible.

“We also recognise the significant costs involved for families which is why we have consistently, since the start of this process in March 2021, been one of the least expensive providers on the DHSC list.

“Nationwide Pathology is committed to providing the best service possible. We have performed over 80,000 Day 2 and Day 8 covid tests since the end of March 2021. The vast majority of our clients have no issue and are very happy with the service they receive. Our complaints KPI is 0.29%.

“Unfortunately, even though we use Royal Mail, who are a gold standard logistics provider, they have experienced some delays in getting samples to us. We understand how important results are to customers, but we are simply unable to test a sample that we do not have.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “There are no reported delays in our network related to people using Royal Mail’s priority post boxes to manage their test results. In fact we continue to receive praise for the high quality of the service we provide to the nation. Every day we service hundreds of thousands of test kits on behalf of the NHS both speedily and efficiently. 

“For overseas travellers, the management of test kits, samples and results is carried out through several private companies. In some instances, some of these companies may use a Royal Mail tracked returns service to deliver test results.

“In such cases, we deliver mail items in line with the service specification agreed with the sending companies. Every item of mail is important to us. We are committed to delivering the highest levels of service for all our customers.

“We have lots of capacity in our network to continue to deliver these mail items to a high level of service even if there is an increase in demand.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are carefully monitoring issues raised by the public, raising every complaint with private test providers. We also monitor all providers’ performance, including their delivery and test turnaround times.

“We will take rapid action against any company that is providing an inadequate service. In the first instance, they will receive a warning and are given five days to demonstrate they have addressed concerns, and if not, they are removed from the gov.uk list.”

A spokesperson for Anglia DNA Services said: “We unreservedly apologise for any receipt, delivery, and/or processing issues in this case, one of a very small minority of such issues over the last weeks in which we have successfully fulfilled over 10,000 ‘2 and 8’ day tests for our customers. 

“The individual you reference is being fully refunded as is our policy, with our apologies again.” 

Global Travel Taskforce: Travel has its wings clipped by cautious UK Government report

Vague and costly recommendations are not enough to reboot aviation and tourism sectors facing another summer without international travel, says Westminster’s Transport Committee.

Lack of clarity

In an analysis of the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce Report, the  Committee concludes that the Report sets out a framework without the detail required to restart international travel. Where detail is provided, the costs may be disproportionate to the risk and add £500 on to the cost of a family of four travelling to the safest parts of the globe where the vaccine roll-out is comparable to the UK.

This distinct lack of clarity does not offer confidence to industry or consumers to plan, invest or recover from the coronavirus pandemic. It leaves the planned safe restart of international travel on May 17 in jeopardy.

The UK’s aviation and tourism sectors were poised to accommodate the public’s desire to travel for business, study, holidays and to visit loved-ones. The UK [aviation industry] has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Another summer without international travel heralds significant economic adversity.

Recommendations

In its Report, the Committee sets out four clear recommended actions for Government:

  • Populate the traffic-light framework with destination countries by May 1 and announce the details in a statement to Parliament.
  • Explain the criteria and mechanism by which countries will move between risk categories by May 1.
  • Offer an affordable testing regime that supports public health and safe travel for everyone by maximising the role of lateral flow tests and ensuring the provision of affordable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, where required.
  • Act immediately to reduce waiting times and queues at the UK border, including working bilaterally with partner countries to agree mutual recognition of travel health certification, deploying more staff at the border, processing passenger locator forms before passengers arrive in the UK and establishing an efficient system based on a single digital app to process health certification submitted in a range of languages.

Transport Committee Chair, Huw Merriman MP, said: “The aviation and travel sectors were crying out for a functional report, setting out clear rules and offering certainty. This is not it.

“Where the industry craved certainty, the Government has failed to provide it. For UK citizens seeking to travel to the parts of the globe where the vaccine has been delivered as rapidly as the UK, the cost to families from testing could be greater than the cost of the flights. 

“This is a missed opportunity for the Government to capitalise on the UK’s world-leading ‘vaccine dividend’. How can it be right that hauliers, arriving from parts of the globe where the vaccine roll-out is slow, are able to use cheaper lateral flow testing whilst a trip back from Israel requires a PCR test which is four times as expensive?

“This was an opportunity to provide a global lead with standardised rules on international health certification and promoting app-based technology, making the processes at borders more secure and less time consuming. The urgent situation facing the aviation and travel sectors warrants a clear action plan to green light our travel – and the Government must urgently set it out.”

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “The government is reliant on factors outside its control in restarting international travel, including high and changing infection rates in many countries, so it’s understandable that it cannot provide clarity on where people can go yet. However, it needs to do a better job of fixing the issues it does control.

“Given the government has now dropped its advice not to book holidays, consumers need clarity on how the traffic light system will work and reassurance that last-minute changes won’t leave them facing thousand pound bills – as they did last summer.

“Test costs remain too high and risk pricing millions out of travel, while the problem of passengers queuing for several hours at border control at some UK airports has been going on for months.

“If people are to travel this summer, whether to see loved ones or on holiday, they need the government to make sure it is affordable and safe.”

Travel Taskforce sets out framework to safely reopen international travel

  • Global Travel Taskforce sets out approach to safely restarting international travel
  • recommendations include launch of a new traffic light system and ‘green watchlist’, and the introduction of travel certification
  • government’s priority remains to protect the public and the vaccine rollout from international coronavirus (COVID-19) variants of concern

A framework to chart the safe return of international travel was set out on Friday (9 April 2021) by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

A traffic light system, which will categorise countries based on risk alongside the restrictions required for travel, will be set up to protect the public and the vaccine rollout from international COVID-19 variants.

Key factors in the assessment will include:

  • the percentage of their population that have been vaccinated
  • the rate of infection
  • the prevalence of variants of concern
  • the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing

The report, produced by the Global Travel Taskforce, shows how international travel could resume from 17 May 2021 at the earliest, in an accessible and affordable way. This includes the removal of the permission to travel form – meaning passengers would no longer need to prove they have a valid reason to leave the country.

The UK is a global leader in genome sequencing, which in positive cases allows the identification of variants of concern.

The risks posed by these variants remain significant, and restrictions for inbound passengers, such as 10-day managed quarantine, home quarantine, and stringent testing will remain in place – but will apply to people differently depending on whether the destination visited is categorised as ‘green’, ‘amber’ or ‘red’.

  • Green: arrivals will need to take a pre-departure test as well as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on or before day 2 of their arrival back into the UK – but will not need to quarantine on return (unless they receive a positive result) or take any additional tests, halving the cost of tests on their return from holiday
  • Amber: arrivals will need to quarantine for a period of 10 days and take a pre-departure test, and a PCR test on day 2 and day 8 with the option for Test to Release on day 5 to end self-isolation early
  • Red: arrivals will be subject to restrictions currently in place for ‘red list’ countries which include a 10-day stay in a managed quarantine hotel, pre-departure testing and PCR testing on day 2 and 8

Testing remains an essential part of protecting public health as restrictions begin to ease – with all arrivals who are not exempt required to book a pre-departure, day 2 and day 8 test before travelling.

Arrivals travelling from ‘red list’ countries should book a quarantine package before departure, and arrivals from ‘amber’ and ‘green’ countries will be required to book test packages before travelling from one of the government’s approved list of providers.

Testing post-arrival remains an important tool in our wider measures to manage the risk of imported cases – allowing us to monitor positive tests and ensure people isolate, as well as identify and genomically sequence variants of concern.

We will also work with the travel industry and private testing providers ahead of international travel reopening, to see how we can further reduce the cost of travel for the British public, while ensuring travel is as safe as possible.

This could include cheaper tests being used when holidaymakers return home, as well as whether the government would be able to provide pre-departure tests.

It is too early to predict which countries will be on which list over the summer, and the government continues to consider a range of factors to inform the restrictions placed on them. We will set out by early May which countries will fall into which category, as well as confirming whether international travel can resume from 17 May 2021.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “International travel is vital – it boosts businesses and underpins the UK economy – but more than that, it brings people together, connects families who have been kept apart, and allows us to explore new horizons.

“The framework announced today will help allow us to reopen travel safely and sustainably, ensure we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine roll out, and offer peace of mind to both passengers and industry as we begin to take trips abroad once again.”

The UK will also play a leading role in the development of international standards around a digital travel certification system.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is working across government to consider the role certification could play in facilitating outbound travel, for those countries which have systems in place. Work also continues to develop a system that would facilitate travel certification for inbound international travel.

To give passengers more certainty when travelling, a ‘green watchlist’ will be introduced to help identify countries most at risk of moving from ‘green’ to ‘amber’. The watchlist will provide greater assurance for those who wish to travel abroad.

While the watchlist will warn travellers of potential changes in advance, the government will not hesitate to act immediately should the data show that countries risk ratings have changed.

The allocation of countries will be kept under review and respond to emerging evidence, with a particular focus on variants of concern.

Restrictions will be formally reviewed on 28 June 2021 to take account of the domestic and international health picture, and to see whether current measures could be rolled back. Further formal reviews will take place at checkpoints no later than 31 July and 1 October 2021.

To ensure the UK’s borders remain safe and efficient when passenger flows increase, the government has also announced plans to digitise the passenger locator form, integrating it into the UK border system and enabling checks to take place at e-gates by autumn 2021.

To further boost consumer confidence, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will be given additional enforcement powers to act on airlines that have breached consumer rights – with a dedicated consultation on how to use additional tools to enforce consumer rights expected later this year.

A COVID-19 charter will also be introduced from 17 May 2021, clearly setting out what is required of passengers and what their rights are while measures remain in place.

Responding to the announcement Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “This is an important step towards resuming international travel. The report correctly identifies some of the key barriers facing travellers, but it falls short in providing solutions.

“Holidaymakers will still face the eye-watering costs of Covid tests, which are currently much more expensive in the UK than in many other European countries, and risk pricing people out of taking a holiday. 

“There is also little detail on reassurances that destinations won’t suddenly be moved from green to amber or red, putting travellers at risk of last-minute changes and unaffordable quarantine costs. 

“It is encouraging to hear plans to give the CAA greater powers to tackle the consistent lawbreaking we saw on refunds from some airlines in the last year. These must be sufficiently tough, and give the ability to fine airlines directly for past behaviour to ensure they won’t step out of line again.”