MThe Government’s announcement of more overseas destinations being added to the Green list has been welcomed in the travel industry but much more still needs to be done
Manchester Airport Group’s CEO Charlie Cornish say that Today’s announcement is a long overdue step towards a restart for international travel, giving customers more options when looking to book a holiday this summer.
“However, serious questions remain as to why these destinations weren’t opened-up sooner when there is clear evidence to suggest this could have been done weeks ago.
“At the same time, the Government has again failed to publish the data and advice it is using to inform its decisions, which makes it harder to prepare for any future changes to the lists.
The Government announced that 14 destinations – including the holiday islands Mallorca, Ibiza, Malta and Madeira – would be opened up, allowing holidaymakers to travel to them from 4am on Wednesday without having to quarantine on their return.
But 13 of the nations were added to a newly-created green “watchlist”, meaning they are “most at risk” of suddenly turning amber.
Ministers also said they would allow quarantine-free travel for fully-vaccinated Britons to amber list countries but set no date other than “later in the summer”.
“Stating an intention to enable double vaccinated people to travel to amber countries without the need to self isolate on return is also long overdue and this policy must be implemented as soon as possible.” added Mr Cornish
“Vague and open-ended promises are just not good enough.
“While UK citizens are stuck at home, Europeans are on the move and taking advantage of their own vaccination programmes to lift restrictions and open-up travel to low-risk destinations.
“The Government already has clear evidence on the effectiveness of vaccines, but its sluggish and opaque response to international travel restrictions is squandering the UK’s leadership in this area.
“With no transparency from Government, we simply cannot understand how Ministers are taking these decisions, which are fundamental to the future of a sector that supports more than 1m jobs and billions of pounds of economic value.”
