Last night the UK Government announced that arrivals into the UK from France will no longer need to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated, and has removed a number of countries from the red list – UAE included.
The UK has added Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway to the government’s green list for travel, while India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE will also be moved from the red to the amber list.
Georgia, Mexico, La Reunion and Mayotte have been added to the UK’s red list to “safeguard domestic vaccine rollout”.
As before, the UK has warned that it will keep the data for all countries under review and states that it will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.
Arrivals to the UK from Spain, and all its islands, have been advised to use a PCR test as their pre-departure test wherever possible, as a precaution against the increased prevalence of the virus and variants in the country.
All changes will come into effect at 4am on Sunday 8 August in England.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “While we must continue to be cautious, today’s changes reopen a range of different holiday destinations across the globe, which is good news for both the sector and travelling public.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As we learn to live with this virus we are continuing to take steps to safely reopen international travel, based on the latest data and expert public health advice.”
Commenting on the update to the international travel country listings, Karen Dee, Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association said: “The extension of the green list is a positive step forward and demonstrates that people can travel safely and with confidence. This announcement will be a boost to our airports, their employees and the local economies who depend on aviation and just as importantly to those who have been prevented from visiting friends and relatives.
“However, our airports continue to face a long road to recovery with passenger numbers remaining at historically low levels which continue to lag behind our European competitors. We urge the Government to not only continue to open up travel, but to tackle the sky-high cost of testing and to provide a much-needed tailored package of financial support to help our aviation industry through the challenging months ahead.”