Tag: traffic light system

Expanded travel green list for Scotland

Key destinations added following latest review

New additions have been made to the international travel green list for Scotland to include Malta, Madeira and the Balearics.

The announcement came on the same day as a record 2999 new Covid cases were recorded in Scotland.

There will be close monitoring of the position in the Balearics over the next three weeks ahead of the next review point.

The easing follows the latest review of the ‘traffic light’ risk warning system for international travel which came into effect on 17 May.

Other additions to an expanded green travel list include Antigua, Barbados, and Bermuda.

A number of destinations – including Tunisia and Uganda – have been added to the red list which requires managed isolation for 10 days on return.

The latest changes come into effect at 4am on 30 June.

The steps were considered on a four nation basis at a strategic meeting which also considered possible options for future changes to amber list arrival requirements.

The Scottish Government is cautiously considering the evidence for easing amber list travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people.

However the need for caution to protect public safety means no decision is expected on this immediately and four nations discussions will continue.

The latest analysis of international travel restrictions has seen no change to the green and red list requirements.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: “From the outset we have said caution is required regarding international travel and people should think very carefully about travelling abroad as situations can suddenly change.

“We continue to work closely with the other home nations and are cautiously supportive of exploring options for the easing of restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from countries on the amber list – but only if the clinical advice supports it and if systems are in place to ensure the wider safety of the Scottish population.”

Additions to the green list from 4am on 30 June are: Malta, Madeira and the Balearic islands; the Caribbean nations of Antigua, Barbados, Barbuda, Dominica and Grenada; and the UK overseas territories of Anguilla and Montserrat, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Pitcairn, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Current green list countries are: Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

The Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda have been added to the red list following the latest review.

Travellers currently returning from red list countries are required to enter managed isolation. Amber list returnees must self-isolate at home with two PCR tests on days 2 and 8. Travellers returning from green list countries are not required to isolate, with a PCR test on day 2.

We have a system in place to provide people with a record of their vaccination status if they need this for international travel. Not many countries currently accept a record of Covid vaccination status as an entry requirement, so for the time being most people will still need to follow other rules when travelling abroad – like getting a negative pre-departure PCR test.

The additions to the travel list mirror those announced in England yesterday by Transport Minister Grant Shapps.

Mr Shapps said: “We’re moving forward with efforts to safely reopen international travel this summer, and thanks to the success of our vaccination programme, we’re now able to consider removing the quarantine period for fully vaccinated UK arrivals from amber countries – showing a real sign of progress.

“It’s right that we continue with this cautious approach, to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable.

“Travel continues to be different this year, and passengers face longer wait times, although government is making every effort to speed up queues safely. Those returning from red list countries will continue to be separated from other passengers in dedicated terminals to be processed as safely and efficiently as possible, before being transferred to a managed quarantine hotel.”

TENS of thousands of unvaccinated young British clubbers heading for the nightspots of Ibiza … what could possibly go wrong? – Ed.

Good To Go? UK Government confirms traffic light list

International leisure travel from England no longer illegal from 17 May 2021 but strict border control measures will remain in place

  • UK government confirms international travel can gradually resume from 17 May, as 12 countries and territories are added to the ‘green list’
  • strict rules on testing and quarantine will remain in place to protect public health and our vaccination programme, while people should not travel to ‘amber’ and ‘red’ countries for leisure
  • international travel will be different as passengers are warned to expect additional checks and longer queues at the border

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has today (7 May 2021) announced that international travel can begin to safely reopen from 17 May, allowing people to go on foreign holidays to green list countries.

The ‘Stay in the UK’ regulation will lift on 17 May, meaning leisure travel from England will no longer be illegal.

However, speaking at a No10 press conference this afternoon, the Transport Secretary outlined how strict border control measures will remain in place as international travel gradually resumes. Different levels of restriction will be applied to individuals returning to England from countries based on the traffic light system set out by the Global Travel Taskforce.

People are being guided on where they can safely visit without needing to quarantine on return to England – starting with the additions of Portugal including the Azores and Madeira, Israel and Jerusalem and Singapore among others to the ‘green list’. They will still need to take a pre-departure test up to 72 hours before their return travel, and a single PCR test on or before day 2 of arrival into England – this can be booked in the same way as is in place now, through private test providers.

Our priority remains to protect public health, which is why the ‘green’ list is currently very small, with only 12 countries and territories. As the epidemiological situation improves worldwide, it is expected that there will be more opportunities for leisure travel with a greater number of destinations added.

In total, 12 countries and territories have been added to the green list. Some of these include: Portugal including the Azores and Madeira; Australia; New Zealand; Singapore; Brunei; Iceland; Faroe Islands; Gibraltar; Falkland Islands; and Israel and Jerusalem.

However, many ‘green list’ countries will continue to place restrictions on UK travellers, including quarantine measures, so passengers are encouraged to check all requirements and FCDO travel advice before they book any foreign travel.

Given that the virus is still spreading in many parts of the world, people should not be travelling to amber and red countries for leisure. 10-day managed hotel quarantine requirements will remain in place for those permitted to return to England from ‘red’ countries, and quarantine at home alongside stringent testing will be required for those returning from ‘amber’ destinations.

Countries have been allocated by ministers according to the latest scientific data, so quarantine and testing requirements on return from those countries are appropriate to the risk of coronavirus and variants of concern.

The lists will be reviewed every 3 weeks, informed by public health advice, including the Joint Biosecurity Centre’s assessment of the latest data. These regular review points will allow the government to balance helping the public to understand COVID requirements when travelling to England while allowing us to constantly evaluate the risk for different countries.

The government will also be publishing a green watchlist in the future, to provide an indication when a country is identified as a candidate for a changing country. All measures will be kept under review and further action may be taken to protect public health.

Countries will decide whether they require proof of COVID vaccination for entry, and it is the traveller’s responsibility to check individual requirements. If needed, people in England who have both vaccine doses will be able to demonstrate their COVID vaccination status via the NHS app from 17 May.

Those without access to the app can request a letter from the NHS proving their vaccination status by calling 119, from 17 May.

Test results will not be stated in the app and the process for booking and presenting test results for travel remains unchanged. The government is working with the devolved administrations to ensure this facility is available to everyone across the UK.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Today marks the first step in our cautious return to international travel, with measures designed above all else to protect public health and ensure we don’t throw away the hard-fought gains we’ve all strived to earn this year.

“This is a new way of doing things, and people should expect travel to be different this summer – with longer checks at the borders, as part of tough measures to prevent new strains of the virus entering the country and putting our fantastic vaccine rollout at risk.”

On top of this, to continue protecting the country against new variants of coronavirus, from 4am Wednesday 12 May, the Maldives, Nepal and Turkey will be added to the red list.

When travel does restart, it will be different, most notably when returning to the UK. Reopening international travel, while maintaining 100% health checks at the border, means longer waits are likely – passengers from any destination will still be required to fill out a Passenger Locator Form (PLF), and show proof of a pre-departure test negative result.

While holidaymakers may notice longer than usual queues, it is vital we maintain our stringent border checks – which are among the toughest in the world – to prevent new strains of the virus entering the country and putting our vaccine roll out at risk.

The government is constantly trying to improve processes to make them as efficient as possible to minimise wait times, and will be committing to increasing Border Force resources to manage increased demand. This includes deploying additional Border Force officers where high volumes of passengers are expected.

Border Force will be checking that arriving passengers have complied with current health measures, and passengers can help reduce delays by completing all necessary requirements before entering the country.

We continue to urge airlines to carry out all necessary checks or risk facing fines of £2,000 for each passenger they carry who does not have a valid Pre-Departure Test Certificate, and £2,000 for each passenger who does not have a completed PLF.

The government will also continue with plans to integrate health measure checks into our border system and enabling checks to take place at e-gates in major ports during Summer 2021. Following the UK exit from the EU and the end of the Transition Period, UK citizens will be subject to additional checks upon entering EU countries.

If travelling abroad, you need to take steps to keep safe and prepare in case things change while you are there. Check and subscribe to FCDO travel advice updates to understand the latest entry requirements and COVID 19 rules.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “Thousands of people will now be looking to arrange a long-awaited holiday or visit loved ones overseas. Travellers will have an expectation that these new government rules should protect their health and their money, yet serious issues around lengthy airport queues and a broken testing system remain unresolved.

“Travellers should also be aware that there is still some financial risk involved in booking travel plans, depending on how you book and which company you choose. Several holiday companies and airlines remain under investigation for breaking the law last year, and some have indicated they may do so again.

“In a summer when further disruption can be expected, travel companies must be honest about the risks holidaymakers may be taking on. Crucially, holidaymakers also need to do their research before booking, as choosing the right provider could be the difference between getting hundreds of pounds back or just getting the runaround.”

Holiday firms suggest they will break the law on refunds again

With hopes of a return to holidays abroad within weeks, some package providers that broke the law last year are still misleading customers over their right to a refund and other financial protections, according to a new investigation from Which?.

Ahead of the government revealing the ‘green’ list of countries that travellers can visit without the requirement for quarantine on their return, Which? mystery shopped six of the UK’s biggest package travel operators to find out if customers making new bookings will get their money back if lockdowns or quarantine prevent them from travelling.

Which? spoke to three agents each from Love Holidays, On the Beach, Teletext Holidays, Trailfinders, TravelUp and Tui.

Of the six companies, only Trailfinders and Tui consistently answered Which?’s questions in line with the law and in line with the company’s official policy.

Agents at all of the others either suggested to the consumer champion’s researchers that they were willing to break the law over refunds, or misled them about how their holiday would or wouldn’t be protected.

Which? asked the travel companies:

  • Whether customers would get their money back if the government banned international travel before they were due to depart;
  • Whether they would get a refund for both their flight and accommodation together if the holiday was cancelled by the provider;
  • Whether customers could cancel for a full refund if they are told they will have to quarantine on arrival at their destination;
  • And how they would be refunded under the Atol scheme if the company were to collapse.

When asked about the government banning travel before they were due to leave, only Trailfinders, TravelUp and Tui repeatedly gave assurances that they would be entitled to a refund. Love Holidays, On the Beach and Teletext were all inconsistent in their responses. 

Legally, customers may not be entitled to a refund if they cannot travel because of a national or regional lockdown. However, Which? only recommends booking with companies that have committed to paying out in this scenario.

While On the Beach officially told the consumer champion it would refund customers in the event of a travel ban, two of its agents said otherwise. Teletext also gave mixed responses and when Which? approached the company for clarification, it refused to comment.

Love Holidays told Which? that customers would only be able to receive a full refund in this scenario if their airline cancelled their flight – and while it agreed this was unfair, it would still deny full refunds on this basis.

By law, customers whose package holiday is cancelled by their provider should be entitled to a full refund within 14 days, regardless of whether the airline cancels the flight or not. However, some companies have been denying full refunds on the basis they have not been able to secure refunds from airlines for the flight portion of the booking.

Airlines require full payment for the flights from the package holiday provider in advance, meaning that when flights booked as part of a package are not cancelled, it can be difficult to recoup the money from the flight carrier.

When Which? investigated, only Trailfinders and Tui committed to reimbursing both flights and hotels within the 14 days legally required.

Trailfinders guarantees customers will receive a full refund if their holiday is cancelled by ‘ring-fencing’ customer payments, meaning when refunds were due, their money would be returned to them in full and without delay – a model not replicated by the other providers. All the other companies suggested that full refunds would depend on whether or not the airline cancelled the flight.

Love Holidays said it would wait to be reimbursed by suppliers before passing the money onto customers, even though it has already faced an intervention from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for withholding refunds from customers while it chased money from airlines.

Similarly, Teletext has also been investigated by the CMA for withholding refunds, and is now facing court action if it fails to refund over £7 million in customer payments.

Despite the company being under investigation at the time, an agent still told Which?’s undercover researcher that customers could expect to wait up to two months for their money back while it chased suppliers for refunds.

While TravelUp said it was refunding within 14 days “wherever possible”, agents told the undercover researcher it relied upon receiving refunds from suppliers, and that it charges customers an admin fee – a minimum of £50 – to chase their refunds for them.

The researcher also asked if customers would be entitled to their money back if they were required to quarantine on their arrival. Denying a refund on this basis is in breach of the Package Travel Regulations, as having to quarantine on arrival should be considered an ‘unavoidable and extraordinary circumstance’ that will significantly affect the performance of a package holiday, meaning customers should be offered the choice between a reasonable alternative or a refund. 

Only Tui and Trailfinders said they would provide refunds for customers in this scenario. Agents at all the other companies Which? spoke to said customers would only receive a full refund if the airline cancelled their flight.

However, official responses from Loveholidays, On the Beach and TravelUp all contradicted the advice their agents had given on the phone, insisting that customers would be due a full refund if they cancelled because of instruction to quarantine on their arrival.

The consumer champion also questioned agents about how holidays were protected under the Atol scheme. Atol protection ensures customers will receive the option of a full refund if their provider goes bust before their package holiday takes place or while they are abroad.

Nearly every agent answered correctly when asked if their package holidays were Atol protected. But some agents provided misleading information when asked whether Atol protection applied if a flight and hotel were booked one week apart. 

In this situation, while the flight might be covered by Atol if booked through a tour operator, the hotel and transfer would not be. But all three agents for Teletext Holidays incorrectly implied customers booking their flights and accommodation separately would be fully covered. 

Which? is urging those considering a package holiday this summer to do their research, and read the terms of a company’s flexible booking policy carefully before booking.

All Which? Recommended Providers have committed to offering full refunds in the event of coronavirus related disruption, and all abide by the Package Travel Regulations. Consumers should avoid companies that cannot guarantee to offer a full refund in the event of further disruption.

The consumer champion is also campaigning for major travel industry reform to ensure greater protection of travellers’ money and enforcement of their existing consumer rights when they book a holiday or a flight. 

The CAA has launched a consultation on reforming Atol protections and the protection of customer money which the consumer champion will be submitting evidence to. Meanwhile the CMA is also currently investigating refunds in the package holiday sector, and it should not hesitate to take enforcement action against any companies that continue to break the law on refunds when mass international resumes.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “Holiday companies are quick to offer promises that you can book with confidence this summer, but unfortunately many of them won’t be so quick to refund your money if coronavirus prevents you from travelling – and that’s if they refund you at all.

“Whether you can book with confidence ultimately comes down to who you book with. Many of the companies that broke the law last year have suggested they may do so again, so regulators must be ready to take strong action against any operators found to be misleading their customers or breaking the law.

“Travellers considering a holiday this year should only book with companies that guarantee in their flexible booking terms that they will be able to get all of your money back if lockdowns, quarantine and other disruption should strike.”

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.”