Seven more countries have been added to the UK government’s green travel list.
From 4am on Sunday, anyone returning from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway will no longer need to quarantine on arrival.
There are now 36 countries on the green list – but 16 of them, including Caribbean islands, Croatia, Malta, Israel and Taiwan are on the “green watchlist”, meaning they could be suddenly be moved to amber.
Australia and New Zealand are both green – but neither are currently welcoming British travellers.
France has also lost its confusing “amber plus” status, which had meant that all travellers and not just those who are not fully vaccinated had to self-isolate for 10 days upon return. It was the only country in that category.
India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been downgraded from the red to the amber list, meaning arrivals will no longer have to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel.
Mexico, Georgia and the French overseas territories of La Reunion and Mayotte are joining the red list.
The government has also hiked the price of hotel quarantine required on return from a red list country. It will be increased from £1,750 to £2,285 from 12 August. The charge for an adult sharing a room will increase from £650 to £1,430.
Despite prior speculation, Spain will remain on the amber list, enabling travellers who are fully vaccinated to continue to enjoy a quarantine-free return. There were fears in the travel industry that Spain could be added to the red list.
PM Boris Johnson said earlier this week that he wanted to keep a “simple”, “user-friendly” system for foreign travel.
Ryanair flew an average of 300,000 passengers per day in July, the airline has revealed.
Europe’s biggest budget airline carried 9.3 million people last month, which is 37 per cent lower than the corresponding figure in 2019.
The average “load factor” – the proportion of seats filled – was 80 per cent, meaning one in five seats remains empty. Two years ago the figure was 97 per cent.
Ryanair flew around 2,000 flights per day in July 2021.
Holidaymakers deterred by government bureaucracy rather than Covid
Brits are deterred from holidaying abroad, not by the fear of catching Covid-19, but by the bureaucracy and unpredictability of the UK government’s restrictions on international travel, according to new research.
A poll of 1,000 holidaymakers conducted by Holiday Extras found that nearly half of respondents (48 per cent) claimed they were put off going on a foreign trip this summer by the hoops they would need to jump through in order to get away.
This was compared to 8 per cent who blamed increased costs, 8 per cent who said they’d rather staycation, and 29 per cent who said they were worried about catching coronavirus.
Ant Clarke-Cowell at Holiday Extras said: “It’s been a really long year of tough rules and restrictions, and the prospect of a couple of weeks away in the sun is what got many through it – but now, as lockdown has been lifted, international travel still faces an unnecessary level of uncertainty that has become the biggest blocker for Brits hoping to book their summer breaks.
“When we asked our customers whether they were flying away this year, and if not why not, almost twice as many people cited the restrictions as the reason not to fly. That’s almost twice as many that said the pandemic itself was reason enough not to go, and far more than the 5 per cent who said their favourite destination was closed.”
Spain likely to avoid ‘amber plus’ status at next travel review
Spain is set to swerve the dreaded “amber plus” status, according to reports.
Rumours abounded that the country might be added to the special category, created specifically for France last month, in response to fears over the Beta virus variant.
“Amber plus” travellers entering the UK must quarantine for 10 days and take two PCR tests, regardless of vaccination status, while regular amber list arrivals can avoid self-isolation if they’re double jabbed or under 18.
However, it is now expected that Spain will cling onto its amber-list position in the government’s upcoming travel review.
British holidaymakers heading to Europe are set to pay around £6.20 after the EU published its proposals for visa-style fees and security forms.
The EU Commission has confirmed it plans to charge visitors a €7 fee when it introduces its European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) before the end of 2022.
It will affect all visitors coming from visa-exempt countries – like the UK – who want to travel to EU states and any other countries in the border-free Schengen area.
When is the next update to the travel green, amber and red lists?
On 17 May, foreign leisure travel got the go-ahead in England.
Holidays resumed under a traffic light system, with destinations graded as red, amber or green according to the level of risk of travellers reimporting Covid-19 infections.
The “green list” was first revealed on 7 May, and the latest update was announced on 14 July.
But when will more countries be added to the list, and how often will it be updated?
Sleep your way to Paris or Amsterdam on British Airways
Passengers booking business-class trips on British Airways from London Heathrow to Paris or Amsterdam can stretch out on a fully flat bed during part of the one-hour hop.
The frequent-flyer website Head for Points is reporting that BA is using long-haul aircraft with lie-flat Club World beds on some of its shortest flights.
The main type is the ultra-long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is being used on the 8.20am flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam on several days each week, and the 12.10pm departure in the opposite direction.
Mallorca blames UK government flip-flopping for plummeting hotel occupancy
Mallorca hotel chiefs have blamed British government squabbling for condemning them to a lacklustre August.
The holiday island hoteliers' federation today openly accused some UK government ministers of deliberate attempts to discourage foreign breaks by keeping travel limitations in place as they awaited the latest Downing Street travel announcement.
Mallorca Hotel Federation (FEHM) President Maria Frontera insisted the UK's “fluctuating” position would continue to impact on the rest of the summer season, whatever tomorrow's decision.
Spain is expected to remain on amber amid reports Boris Johnson will simplify the traffic light system following travel industry criticism.
Hotel occupancy in Mallorca for August is predicted to be around only 60 per cent and Mrs Frontera insisted UK government flip-flopping was partly to blame.
She said: “With its continuous succession of decisions, motivated in large part by the disparity of criteria existing within the British government, one more open-minded and the other more conservative that puts restrictions on peoples' return in order to promote staycations and prevent bookings in other countries, it is difficult to consolidate an upward trend in reservations.
“Markets are sensitive, require stability and contract at the slightest detection of possible changes.
“The next review, whatever the outcome, is already making a difference.”
European hotels refusing UK bookings over cancellation fears
European hotel operators are refusing British bookings over fears that last-minute changes to the UK government’s travel rules will lead to cancellations, according to an industry leader.
“Hoteliers are turning away bookings from the UK in August because they don’t trust us – and European travellers are taking our beds and availability,” said Noel Josephides, director of Aito, the Specialist Travel Association, and chairman of tour operator Sunvil.
Continued uncertainty around the government’s traffic light system for travel has undermined consumer confidence, with holidaymakers wary of booking foreign holidays.
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