What do the new travel rules mean for holidays?

The rules for travellers returning from amber list locations are changing.

– Which countries are on the amber list?

The amber list features all destinations not on the low-risk green list, or high-risk red list.

That means it covers the vast majority of destinations, including mainland Spain, France, Italy and Portugal.

– What are the current rules for people returning to the UK from those locations?

They must take a pre-departure coronavirus test, two post-arrival PCR tests, and quarantine at home for 10 days.

– What is changing on the quarantine requirement?

From July 19, UK residents returning to England will no longer have to self-isolate if they have received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine from the NHS.

– How about tests?

Returning travellers will still be required to take a pre-departure test, but only one post-arrival test.

– But children are not being vaccinated in the UK. What about them?

Children returning from amber locations will also be exempt from the quarantine requirement.

– The Government advises people to avoid non-essential travel to amber locations. Is that still the case?

The guidance will be scrapped on July 19.

– What did Grant Shapps say?

He told the Commons that England must use the “advantages” of its vaccine rollout to “restore many of the freedoms that have been necessarily lost over recent months”.

– What has been the response of the travel industry?

Firms welcomed the announcement but warned that remaining testing requirements are too restrictive.

– Are there any health concerns?

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, said dropping quarantine without “urgent measures”, such as reducing queues at airports and testing travellers for new variants, risks leaving the UK “dangerously exposed”.

– What about people returning to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

The devolved administrations set their own rules in terms of the requirements for arrivals from overseas.

They have not confirmed whether they will be following England’s relaxation.

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