Ministers ‘to unveil overhaul of travel traffic light rules tomorrow’
Ministers ‘will unveil overhaul of travel traffic light rules tomorrow with green and amber lists expected to be merged into one category of low-risk destinations while number of nations on red list will be slashed’
Ministers are expected to unveil a major shake-up of the Government’s international travel rules tomorrowChanges made by Grant Shapps could see green and amber lists merged into one list of low-risk nations There is also growing speculation that the number of countries on the toughest red list will be reduced Expected shake-up comes after months of travel and tourism bosses calling for the system to be simplified
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A major overhaul of the Government’s international travel rules is expected to be unveiled tomorrow as Grant Shapps makes changes to the traffic light system.
It is thought the green and amber lists could be merged to form one category of low-risk countries for holidaymakers to visit.
Meanwhile, the Transport Secretary could significantly reduce the number of destinations on the red list.
There is also speculation that fully vaccinated passengers arriving in the country will no longer need to take a pre-departure lateral flow test or a post-arrival PCR test in a move which could save travellers approximately £100 per trip.
The expected shake-up comes after months of the travel and aviation industries calling for the system to be simplified.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to formally unveil a significant shake up of the Government’s international travel rules tomorrow
It is thought the green and amber lists could be merged to form one category of low-risk countries for holidaymakers to visit. Heathrow Airport is pictured on September 13
Tomorrow’s expected announcement on international travel came as:
The Government said a further 158 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 134,805. A further 26,911 cases of coronavirus were confirmed as of 9am this morning. Public Health England said the vaccination drive had directly averted approximately 230,800 hospital admissions among people aged 45 and over. Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned the UK faces ‘two backlogs’ after the coronavirus pandemic in the form of NHS waiting lists but also ‘a social backlog in mental health and public health’.
Currently, travellers who have not had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine must take one PCR test and are not required to self-isolate after arriving from a green list destination.
According to reports, they could be required to quarantine at home and be required to take two tests when arriving from a low-risk location under the new system.
The changes would likely come into force ahead of the October half-term break.
Mr Shapps’ expected announcement tomorrow will only apply to England, but recently the devolved administrations have implemented rule changes for travel announced in Westminster.
Boris Johnson said earlier this week that ministers were considering ‘simplifying’ the traffic light system.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister said the Government was also considering what it could do to make ‘the burdens of testing less onerous for those who are coming back into the country’, but did not offer further details.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid later indicated that PCR tests for double-jabbed travellers will be scrapped in favour of cheaper lateral flow tests.
Tory MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the Transport Select Committee, asked Mr Javid on Wednesday if he would ‘entertain the idea of moving to lateral flow tests, which are cheaper, and then only the small proportion of positive cases will then need to take up a PCR test’.
The expected shake-up comes after months of the travel and aviation industries calling for the system to be simplified
Mr Javid replied: ‘I don’t want to pre-empt the statement by the Transport Secretary but I believe that when he makes that statement, he will be pleased.’
Fully-vaccinated travellers returning from amber list locations, including popular destinations such as France, Italy, Greece and mainland Portugal, are required to buy post-arrival PCR tests which typically cost around £65.
Some of the private testing firms listed on the Government website have been accused of advertising misleading low prices and providing poor service.
It is anticipated that people arriving from red list countries will continue to be required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of £2,285 for solo travellers.
There are currently 62 countries on that list, but that number is expected to be reduced.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said earlier this week that 24 countries ‘should be taken off’, including Pakistan, South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Chile.
He added that he would be ‘very surprised’ if Turkey is removed due to ‘worsening’ coronavirus data.
But coronavirus data analyst Tim White said: ‘With Grant Shapps and the travel lottery, no-one can be sure.
‘But the data firmly support Turkey being removed as it has no threat of variants and a lot of genomic sequencing.’
The travel sector has been desperate for the testing and quarantine rules for international travel to be relaxed.
Heathrow said this week it had gone from being Europe’s busiest airport in 2019 to number 10 on the list, behind rivals in cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.
The transport hub announced it recorded a 48 per cent increase in passenger numbers in August compared with the previous month.
Some 2.2million passengers travelled through the west London airport last month, up from 1.5 million in July and the highest monthly passenger total of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the airport noted that demand was still down 71 per cent compared with before the coronavirus crisis. In August 2019, passenger numbers reached 7.7 million.
Heathrow has urged the Government to ‘streamline’ the rules for international travel, calling for the amber list to be scrapped, and a two-tier system introduced.
Under the airport’s proposals, fully vaccinated arrivals from green list locations would no longer be required to take a test, whereas those who are not fully vaccinated would need to take lateral flow tests pre-departure and post-arrival.
Only those who test positive would need to take a more expensive PCR test.
Hotel quarantine would be retained for arrivals from high-risk red list countries.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: ‘The Government has the tools to protect the UK’s international competitiveness which will boost the economic recovery and achieve its ‘global Britain’ ambitions.
‘If ministers fail to take this opportunity to streamline the travel rules then the UK will fall further behind as trade and tourists will increasingly bypass the UK.’
