Deadline for traffic light travel missed

A DEADLINE for grading countries under the new traffic light system for international travel has been missed by the Government.

The Commons’ Transport Select Committee issued a report last week which stated that the green, amber and red lists of destinations must be published by Saturday “at the latest”, but this has not happened.

Instead, the Department for Transport has only said the lists will be made public in “early May”.

The ban on overseas leisure travel is expected to be lifted for people in England from May 17 as part of the next easing of coronavirus restrictions.

The traffic light system will be risk-based, with different rules for people returning to England depending on which list their destination is on.

Many people are eager to discover what countries are on the green list to avoid the need to self-isolate.

Tory MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the committee, said the categorisation of countries is

“the bare minimum” that the travel industry and consumers need to make preparations for May 17, and the lack of information means they are “still in the dark”.