Australians learnt today that they will be banned from overseas travel for another three months.

The “human biosecurity emergency period”, involving a prohibition on going abroad, had been due to end on 17 September.

But the health minister, Greg Hunt, said: “We’ve extended biosecurity protections to 17 December in line with medical advice.”

It is now due to end just a week before Christmas Eve.

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There’s still time to submit your burning travel questions for The Independent’s resident expert Simon Calder.

From 4pm, he’ll be doing a live Q&A in the comments, tackling the most pressing holiday queries from our readers.

Click below to leave your question:

Bulgaria has made the US a “red zone”, meaning that travellers coming from the country, regardless of vaccination status, are barred unless they meet strict exemption criteria.

The change was introduced on 1 September, shortly after the European Union removed the US from its “white list” of destinations considered highest risk.

“Please note that the current Bulgarian entry requirements are based on the country of departure only – not on citizenship and not on countries through which you transit,” read the statement.

“That means US citizens starting their travel from Green or Orange Zones may enter Bulgaria under the conditions listed in the new Health Order of the Bulgarian Ministry of Health.”

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The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned the government that, if travel fails to open up significantly in the next 30 days, many UK firms risk job losses or closure.

In its warning, the WTTC said that the government has “just 30 days left to save travel businesses which are struggling to survive”.

The one-month window marks the countdown to the end of the furlough scheme, which has propped up businesses while travel has remained heavily restricted by government rules.

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Russia is set to open up to the world post-Covid, with more relaxed visa rules on the horizon.

Earlier in the summer, Vladimir Putin signalled easier travel rules, and these are now taking effect. Foreign tourists to Russia are now able to get a visa to Russia for up to six months. Previously the standard limit was 30 days.

It seems that the Kremlin has decided to revert to the relatively straightforward approach to overseas visitors that prevailed in Soviet times: booking a tour or a hotel, and providing the confirmation as well as a completed application form, was all that was required.

The changes are currently moot for British holidaymakers, because any travellers arriving from the UK must quarantine for two weeks.

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Following the changes to the UK’s red, amber and green lists last week, many people have questions about their upcoming or hoped-for travels.

Whether it’s about when the UK to US travel corridor might open up, what the specific travel rules are now for top holiday destinations such as Spain, France or Italy, or whether destinations like Turkey will remain on the red list for much longer, we’ll do our best to give you the most up to date and inside-track information.

Whatever your travel query, you can ask The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder today - he’ll be sitting down to answer your questions at 4pm.

You can ask Simon your travel questions in the comments box below this story, and follow live at 4pm as he answers as many as he can:

The travel journalist and broadcaster Lisa Francesca Nand has tweeted that her family’s “day two” PCR tests have finally arrived - five days after their return from Spain.

Under the UK government’s arrival rules, a PCR test should be taken on the day of arrival, or within one of the two following days.

Ms Nand said: “If this is about testing to make sure incomers don’t spread the virus, it’s too late – I’ve already slobbered over half of Brighton.”

In response, Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, wrote: “If it was genuinely about public health there would be no exemptions for football, COP summit, Fashion Week etc”.

Read more about missing and late travel PCR tests:

Travellers to Portugal at Gatwick tell The Independent that the testing regime demanded by the destination is only a mild inconvenience. Wendy and Trevor from Sevenoaks, who were flying on easyJet’s mid-morning flight to Faro, said: “The main problem is Brexit. We have a holiday home in Portugal and we can’t spend as long there as we want to.

“Also, the customs problems now make moving stuff back and forth with delivery companies almost impossible – which is why we’ve got so much luggage.”

Today, easyJet has four flights from Gatwick to Faro – the same number as it is dispatching to Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

Abu Dhabi is lifting quarantine measures for vaccinated travellers from any country, as well as unvaccinated residents of nations on its “green list”.

The eased restrictions take effect on 5 September.

The vaccines must be approved by the World Health Organisation – which includes AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm.

Tourists must register their vaccination certificate online five days before travel.

All arrivals must show a negative PCR test taken a maximum of 48 hours before departure, and take a PCR test at the airport.

They will not need to quarantine but will be required to take one or more additional PCR tests.

Abu Dhabi’s green list includes Ireland and most European countries, but not the UK.

Unvaccinated travellers from non-green list nations must quarantine at home or in a hotel for 10 days.

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s travel liveblog. We’ll be providing all the latest travel updates throughout the day.