Cleared for take-off! But Portugal one of few on list

BOOKINGS for green-list countries such as Portugal have surged ahead of the lifting of a ban on foreign leisure travel from England and Wales today.

Travel firms said the country is in hot demand as it was put on the government green list – meaning holidaymakers do not need to self-isolate on their return and only have to take one post-arrival test.

EasyJet has added 105,000 extra seats to its flights serving green tier destinations, while Tui will use aircraft which normally operate long-haul routes to accommodate the surge of people booked to fly to Portugal.

Only a dozen countries and territories are on the green list and most are either remote islands or do not currently allow UK tourists to enter.

The government is advising people not to make non-essential trips to locations on its amber list, which covers popular destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece. But this guidance is expected to be ignored by some.

Health secretary Matt Hancock told Times Radio: ‘The red and amber list countries are places that you shouldn’t go to unless you have an absolutely compelling reason.’ Those who do travel will be required to self-isolate at home for ten days on return, and take two post-arrival tests.

Airlines and tour operators have called for rules to be relaxed and for more places to go on the green list.

But Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, warned that there are ‘broad swathes of Europe that are largely unvaccinated’ and ‘vulnerable to new variants’. He said: ‘I think people have to get used to the fact that Cornwall or Bournemouth or wherever is not so bad.’

The government will review lists on June 27 and overall policy for arriving travellers on June 28. Scotland will permit trips abroad from May 24. Non-essential travel from Northern Ireland is also set to begin on that date.