Holidaymakers across the UK are concerned about the governmen’ts ever-changing decisions on which destinations are classed as ‘Green’, ‘Amber’ and ‘Red’ on the traffic-light system and the introduction of a new ‘Amber-Plus’ category.
The UK government announced that fully vaccinated holidaymakers returning from countries on the Amber list now no longer have to self-isolate for 10 days on their return however, many holidaymaker’s initial joy was soon tempered as the government also announced it was creating a new ‘Amber-Plus’ category on the traffic light system. This list is for countries on the Amber list that the government wants to keep quarantine restrictions on.
France was the first country to be added to this new list and their are fears that Spain and Greece could also be added. Many holidaymakers are wondering why the UK government made the initial decision to allow those who had been double-vaccinated to holiday quarantine-free in Amber list destinations if it was simply going to create a new category – making the traffic-light for travel system even more confusing.
Labour said an estimated 5,857,558 people face the prospect of last-minute quarantine requirements to protect against the spread of coronavirus after booking trips if countries which were previously on the Amber list are switched to the new Amber-Plus list.
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon said: “Not only have they failed to protect our borders, allowing Covid cases to rocket – they also refuse to be straight with the public and give them the information they need to book travel with confidence, with clear information on the direction of travel of infections in each country.
“Families who have booked holidays in good faith now risk losing out – 10-day quarantine is simply not an option for many people who are already struggling financially thanks to the pandemic.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The travel list allocations have not changed for Spain or Greece.
“We are closely monitoring the data and will take swift action on travel list allocations and international travel requirements should the data show that countries’ risk to England has changed.”
