‘Stop treating us like kids!’
Ministers come under f ire over destinations on holiday list as easy-Jet boss says Greece and Spain must move from amber to green in three weeks
MATT Hancock was last night accused of sabotaging families’ holiday plans as the backlash over the Government’s overseas travel blueprint intensified.
Fingers were pointed at the Health Secretary and his department amid anger about how Downing Street chose the first ‘green list’ of 12 countries cleared for quarantine-free holidays after May 17.
Many of the countries are extremely remote or are not allowing tourists to enter. Other potential destinations with low infection levels and high vaccination rates, including the Greek islands, were given ‘amber’ status, meaning holidaymakers would need to isolate when they returned to the UK.
Meanwhile, the cost of trips to Portugal – the only country on the list regularly visited by large numbers of British holidaymakers – soared.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that the holiday lists will be reviewed in the week beginning May 31 with an update issued the following week. The Joint Biosecurity Centre, which advises the Government, will then assess the data every three weeks before presenting its findings.
Despite that, Ministers were yesterday accused of ‘treating everybody like fools, idiots and children’ over the issue. One senior Conservative said of the traffic-light system: ‘The whole thing’s a disaster. The vaccine programme will have covered everybody, but instead the decisions have been handed over to the scientists.’
Insiders said the decisions have been ‘led by [the Department of] Health’ with the Cabinet split between Mr Hancock and Cabinet
Officer Minister Michael Gove – who were both ‘absolutely determined to lock down everything and do exactly what the scientists say’ – and Home Secretary Priti Patel, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Chancellor Rishi Sunak who argued for less strict rules. Boris Johnson was described as the ‘punchbag in the middle of them’.
Several sources said the Greek islands had not made it on to the first ‘green list’ because health officials ‘weren’t ready’ to assess the data of the islands separately.
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski, who sits on the All Party Parliamentary Group for Greece, said: ‘How can you categorise Greece as a whole if it comprises hundreds of islands? Islands like Kos, Rhodes, Crete and Corfu all have their own airports. It is not a question of flying to Athens and going from there. Some of these islands have a very low R rate, and authorities have put into place measures to protect tourists.’
All adults on the island of Halki, for example, have been vaccinated, and as of last month there had been no Covid cases there.
Questioning the Government’s ‘illogical approach’, another Tory MP said: ‘Australia and New Zealand have banned everybody. So they thought, “Let’s put them on the list, because it’s not our fault if you can’t go. It makes us look better.”
‘They’ve handed over all of this to scientists who will be telling them what they can’t do. You either believe the vaccines work or you don’t. At the moment we are puffing up the idea you need the vaccine to save your lives, then saying, “But just in case they don’t work, you can’t do anything or go anywhere.”’
There was also widespread dismay across the travel industry. easyJet boss Johan Lundgren said the decision to block major holiday destinations was ‘overly cautious’ and ‘not justified by the evidence’.
He said Greece, Spain and their islands should move to ‘green’ status in three weeks with the rest of Europe following by summer, as the risk in those nations was ‘very low’, comparable to that in the UK.
British Airways chief executive, Sean Doyle, said he was ‘disappointed’ by the limited restart to international travel, adding: ‘With high levels of vaccinations in the UK and other countries catching up, we need more destinations to go ‘green’ by the end of June, allowing Britons to get away this summer.
‘It’s clear that America should be on the green list. A reciprocal agreement between our countries would help restart our economy and support devastated industries.’
The Scottish Government is expected to give an update next week on whether it will follow the UK Government’s approach.
Airport bosses have met ministers and believe Scotland will take
‘You either believe the vaccines work – or not’
part in a four-nation approach to international travel.
Lockdown-weary Brits looking for a week in Portugal can expect to pay at least 75 per cent more than last summer. One UK holiday site was yesterday advertising a stay at the end of May for a family of four at a B&B on the Algarve for £2,794. By comparison, a similar stay at a five-star hotel cost £1,596 at the height of August.
The price of flights to Portugal also rose sharply. While easy-Jet was quoting £73 for a May 16 flight from Luton to the Algarve, it was up to £234 for the following day.
One travel industry source said: ‘The EU has said anybody vaccinated can come into the EU without restrictions. Why are we not doing the same?’
A Government spokesman said: ‘We are taking a cautious approach to opening up international travel to protect against Covid-19 variants. The decision to add countries to the red, amber or green lists is made by Ministers informed by scientific data and public health experts.’