Fully vaccinated travellers arriving back into England from Amber listed countries will not have to quarantine from 19 July, the Transport Secretary has announced.
Grant Shapps however told the House of Commons that pre and post-flight testing requirements will remain in place,
“We want to welcome international visitors back to the UK and are working to extend our approach to vaccinated passengers from important destinations.” said the Transport Secretary.
Transport operators and carriers will be “required to check proof before they are able to get on transport”, Mr Shapps said.
Mr Shapps also announced more than 30 countries and territories “are now recognising vaccine certification as part of entry requirements”.
He said: “We know that travel is important. This is not just of course about holidays, eager as we are for time in the sun, but this is also about reuniting families.”
The Government is also lifting its blanket recommendation that people should not travel to amber countries, although the Foreign Office may still advise against non-essential trips to some of the 140-plus destinations on the amber list.
Children under 18, who have not been vaccinated, will also be exempt but will still have to undergo PCR tests on their return.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said:
“This is the news that UK holidaymakers have been looking forward to, as it finally signals a meaningful restart to international travel. Instead of a handful of destinations to choose from, this news means our customers can plan and look forward to flights and holidays across 40 Green and Amber list destinations this summer.
“We will be restarting flights and holidays to all Amber List destinations from 19th July 2021 onwards and we are ready for the wave of demand that this long-awaited and very welcome news will bring. We know how much customers want to jet off on our flights and ATOL protected package holidays, and we are ready to fly them away. Our team of colleagues could not be more excited to take customers on their much-awaited holidays and to deliver our award-winning VIP customer service.
“With the Government looking to unlock restrictions from 19th July, we have been calling for international travel not to be left behind, so this is an extremely positive step forward for the travel industry. It is fantastic news for our customers who want nothing more than to get away, and we cannot wait to take them on their well-deserved holidays.
“We look forward to the Scottish and Northern Ireland Governments following suit and await further good news from the devolved nations.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly to look after customers and independent travel agent partners throughout the pandemic. We have built up a huge amount of trust thanks to our response and with sunnier skies in view we cannot wait to get back to doing what we do best, which is looking after customers on their flights and holidays.
“We will of course continue to review our programme in line with further updates from the Government.”
