The traffic light system for international travel grades countries into three main categories of green, amber and red depending on their coronavirus infection rates, variants of concern, vaccine rates and the credibility of their data.
Currently the four home nations have the same green list, which allows for quarantine-free travel, although England also operates a “green watchlist”, which indicates that the country could turn to amber or red at any time rather than at the three-week review point. The next update to the traffic light system is due on Thursday.
What are the rules for the green, amber and red list countries?
UK travellers from green list countries must take a Covid test 72 hours or less before departure and pay for another test on day two after arrival.
For countries on the amber list, all under-18s and fully vaccinated travellers from the UK, the EU and the United States can avoid quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days before landing. The government also created a de facto “amber plus” list by announcing that the quarantine exemption for the fully vaccinated would not apply to France. All travellers from amber list countries must take a test in the three days before departure and then take tests on days two and eight after arrival.
All arrivals from red list countries must take a test in the three days before departure and spend ten days at a managed quarantine hotel, which costs £1,750 for one adult. Further tests are to be taken on the second and eighth day of quarantine. All of this applies even if they have been fully vaccinated.
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What was the “amber watchlist” and why has it been scrapped?
The “amber watchlist” would have created a new designation to warn holidaymakers which amber countries were at risk of turning red. The plans were designed to give more information to people about the risks when booking their holidays.
However, the travel industry warned that it would trigger mass cancellations to countries placed on the list because of the risk that travellers would have to pay £1,750 to quarantine in a hotel on their return if the country suddenly turned red.
Ministers were considering adding Spain, the most popular holiday destination for British tourists, to the amber watchlist. This would have caused an exodus because up to a million British tourists are on holiday there. There was also talk of other popular holiday destinations such as Italy and Greece being added to the watchlist.
Does this mean holidays are back on? Will Brits now rush to book flights?
Given that the existence of plans for an amber watchlist only emerged last week, axing it is unlikely to spark a huge surge in bookings. Instead, it is likely to reassure people with existing bookings that they can go ahead with their holiday.
However, previous changes to the traffic light system have shown there is a flurry of last-minute bookings from people who are able to make last-minute decisions based on which countries open up.
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Could the system change again?
Boris Johnson is under pressure to simplify the list further by scrapping the traffic light system altogether and replace it with a binary green and red list, similar to the system run by the United States.
This week he said he wanted a “simple and user-friendly” traffic light system for international travel. This suggests that the government will keep a three-coloured system in place for the remainder of the summer.
Will travel insurance cover my holiday abroad?
Most insurers will cover holidays on the amber list provided that the Foreign Office has dropped its advice warning against non-essential travel.
However, the majority of insurers are also refusing to offer cover for Covid-19, meaning travellers could face picking up the bill if they have to cancel bookings after contracting coronavirus or being forced to isolate.
