New travel green list angers airport boss
HE SAYS GOVT HAS ‘IGNORED’ THE SCIENTIFIC SAFETY EVIDENCE
PEOPLE will feel frustrated at the Government’s ‘green list’ announcement, with just 12 countries and regions confirmed for quarantinefree holiday travel, the boss at East Midlands Airport has said.
Portugal, Gibraltar and Israel are among 12 places people in England can visit from May 17 without selfisolating on their return, the Government said on Friday, May 7.
And it includes places such as Australia and New Zealand, which won’t allow visitors in any case.
France, Spain, Greece and Italy are not yet included in the list. They will be on the amber list which requires 10 days of quarantine at home when you return.
Countries will be reviewed as part of the traffic-light system for foreign travel to guard against a resurgence of Covid.
Turkey, the Maldives and Nepal have been added to the red list. People returning from those countries must required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 11 nights – at a cost of £1,750 for solo travellers.
MAG owns and operates East Midlands, Manchester and London Stansted airports.
CEO Charlie Cornish said: “Many people will be frustrated that the announcement by the Transport Secretary does not allow for a broader restart of international travel, with so few countries on the green list.
“The aviation industry will be especially concerned that the Government appears to have ignored clear scientific evidence, which shows that testing and vaccinations can support safe travel to a larger group of low-risk destinations. The public will understandably question why our worldleading vaccination programme has not earned them the freedom to travel abroad without expensive and inconvenient tests – a freedom that other governments, including the European
Union, will be giving to people who have been vaccinated.”
He said aviation supports more than a million jobs and generates billions of pounds of economic value but is “being held back” by tighter controls than any other industry.
Mr Cornish said it essential the country has “meaningful progress towards restarting international travel at the first review of the green list in the next few weeks, ahead of the peak summer season”.
He added: “It is also vital that the Government explores fairer and smarter ways to protect the UK from variants of concern, removing the need for all arriving passengers to take costly and inconvenient PCR tests and mirroring the approach being taken by other countries.
“A true aviation recovery plan is needed to ensure it can play its part in the recovery of the UK economy as a whole.”
People returning from these countries will have to take a test before they return to the UK and one on day two after they return –. but will not have to quarantine:
Portugal including the Azores and Madeira, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Israel. The list remains under review.