Industry sources have hailed “real progress” entering the final days of the summer peak after the government performed a U-turn on two major travel restrictions in its latest review.
In last week’s traffic light update, the government dropped the requirement for vaccinated travellers returning from France to quarantine and plans for an ‘amber watch list’ following a storm of criticism.
The amber watch list had been portrayed as a ‘new’ idea in the build up to the update but in fact was among the international travel traffic light proposals on May 7 that have since been withdrawn.
The government also added Germany, Austria, Slovenia and four other EU countries to the green list and switched the UAE, Qatar, India and Bahrain to ‘amber’, enabling transit via Dubai and Doha.
Industry leaders warned the measures still don’t go far enough. But a senior industry source insisted: “We’ve seen real progress. We can travel and people can arrive here. Not a huge number of destinations are open but the UAE and Qatar opening is good for arrivals.”
The source downplayed a government warning that vaccination restrictions for travellers could become permanent.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps warned last week “there are things you won’t be able to do unless you’re double vaccinated, including going abroad” as the government sought to boost vaccination rates among younger adults.
Shapps told the BBC: “Full vaccination is going to be a feature for evermore. Most countries, probably all, will require full vaccination to enter.”
The source acknowledged “prospects for travel beyond Europe look ropey and we’re looking at restrictions remaining for some time”, but insisted: “No one knows what’s going to happen. I wouldn’t bet on ‘evermore’. We’re all scrambling around. The pandemic has surprised us at every turn. The vaccines were supposed to be the answer but it turns out they’re not [on their own].”
The government left testing requirements unchanged, with a second source insisting: “The key issue now is the cost of testing.”
Arrivals from Spain and its islands are now advised to take a PCR pre-departure test as well as a PCR test on day two post-arrival, increasing the cost.
The next red-amber-green country review is due just before the August Bank Holiday and the next system review by October 1.