SUMMER HOLIDAYS: WE HAVE LIFT-OFF!

■ Travellers set to get free test kits ■ Restrictions to be eased in May ■ More countries to join ‘green list’

TRAVEL restrictions to dozens of holiday destinations are set to be watered down in time for the summer holidays.

A review at the end of June could mean quarantine and testing requirements are slashed for a number of popular locations.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will today confirm a ‘traffic light’ system to allow foreign travel to restart as soon as next month.

Those returning from ‘green list’ countries where the virus is under control will not have to quarantine on return. They will have to take only one test after flying home, rather than the current two. And ministers are considering giving travellers free Covid tests to take abroad to save the hassle and cost of arranging one before flying home.

One Whitehall source said Greece could make it on to the green list next month despite a recent rise in cases. Today’s Global Travel Taskforce report will not commit to a start date for the resumption of foreign trips, which are currently

banned. A Whitehall source said last night that ministers were ‘pretty confident’ travel would restart on May 17, as outlined in the Government’s road map out of lockdown.

Only a ‘handful’ of countries are likely to be placed on the green list at this point. It means travellers returning from most other parts of the world will still have to quarantine and take a series of costly tests, making holidays impractical and unaffordable for many.

But Mr Shapps will today announce plans for a formal review of the system on June 28, aimed at easing restrictions to a much wider number of countries ahead of the holidays.

Sources said this could include cutting or abolishing the quarantine period for ‘amber list’ countries, and modifying the testing regime to allow for fewer or cheaper tests.

This could open up the possibility of holidays to a range of popular destinations.

Mr Shapps said: ‘This framework will help allow us to reopen travel safely and sustainably, ensure we protect our hard-won achievements on the vaccine rollout and offer peace of mind to both passengers and industry as we begin to take trips abroad once again.’ In other measures to be announced today:

■ A new list will be produced to warn holidaymakers of countries in danger of having quarantine reimposed;

■ Further reviews will see quarantine and testing re-examined on July 31 and October 1;

■ The Civil Aviation Authority will be given new powers to tackle airlines that breach consumer rights when travel is disrupted;

■ The passenger locator form filled in by all arrivals will be digitised for faster use through airport e-gates by the autumn;

■ Transport sources said the UK would play a ‘ leading role’ in establishing an international system of vaccine passports.

A decision on which, if any, countries will be given ‘green list’ status will be taken in conjunction with the Government’s Joint Biosecurity Centre, which monitors Covid trends.

One source said only a ‘ handful’ of countries were likely to be named initially, based on Covid case rates, vaccination rates, the

‘Unsustainable burden’

prevalence of ‘variants of concern’, and the country’s ability to identify new strains.

Travel experts have speculated that Israel and Gibraltar, along with a number of Caribbean islands, could be among the first green list destinations because of their high vaccination rates. One Whitehall source told the Mail that Greece could join the list because of low levels of variants of concern.

Malta is predicted to be one of the countries on the initial green list. And the travel industry is pushing for the US to be added now that vaccination rates are soaring. But sources pointed out it still has a travel ban in place for visitors from the UK.

There are hopes that popular destinations such as Spain and Italy could have restrictions eased in time for the summer holidays.

Foreign ‘ non- essential’ travel is currently banned – including holidays – and punishable with a £5,000 fine. The UK already has a version of a traffic light system in place for people returning from abroad. Some 39 countries are ‘ red listed’, meaning direct flights to the UK are halted.

Only UK residents are allowed to enter Britain if they have travelled from a red list country, and they must quarantine at a designated hotel.

Countries affected include Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. All other countries are effectively ‘ amber rated’, meaning returning travellers must quarantine at home. They must also take a preflight test and then purchase a twotest package at a cost of around £200, which they must use on the second and eighth days after returning.

The high cost is due to the requirement to use ‘gold standard’ PCR tests. But ministers are looking at replacing them with quick turnaround ‘ lateral flow devices’. Boris Johnson is pushing for this to be in place by the time of the June 28 review, clearing the way for cheaper holidays abroad this summer.

The industry last night criticised the traffic light plan. Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: ‘ This does not represent a reopening of travel as promised by ministers, and the insistence on expensive and unnecessary PCR testing rather than rapid testing – even for low-risk countries – will pose an unsustainable burden.’