Travel news latest: Airport queues could rise to six hours due to Covid checks, union suggests

British holidaymakers are rushing to secure overseas breaks after the Government confirmed that quarantine rules would be waived for fully-vaccinated Britons returning to England from amber countries.

EasyJet said it saw bookings for amber destinations spike by 400 per cent on Thursday after Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, announced that the change would come into effect on July 19.

British Airways said its traffic to its website almost doubled following the news while online travel agent Thomas Cook said searches for Greece had “tripled in volume”.

Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said: “We have always said that vaccination is the key to unlocking travel and this means that millions will finally be able to reunite with family and loved ones abroad or take that long-awaited trip this summer.”

Spain, Greece and France are among the amber countries that are welcoming double-jabbed Britons.

Late on Thursday, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) lifted its ban on non-essential travel to these and a number of other European holiday favourites. This allows Britons to secure travel insurance more easily and paves the way for tour operators to resume trips.

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8:31AM

Government ‘actively working’ on plans to accept vaccine certificates from other countries

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said the Government is “actively working” on plans to accept vaccination certificates from travellers who receive a coronavirus jab in other countries.

On Thursday Mr Shapps announced that travellers from amber list countries who were fully vaccinated in the UK would no longer have to self-isolate from July 19.

Speaking on Sky News, he said he expected to be able to make an announcement “in the next couple of weeks” on extending it to people who receive a World Health Organisation-approved vaccine in other countries.

“The next thing is to be able to recognise apps from other countries or certification from other countries,” he said.

app — The EU’s Digital Covid Certificate

Credit:
OLIVIER MORIN/ AFP

8:15AM

Expect airport queues before boarding flights home, Shapps warns

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that holidaymakers should expect additional queues when they check in for their flights home due to the need for coronavirus checks.

Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast: “Before you board a plane you would need to show you have completed your passenger locator form, that you have carried out a pre-departure test, that you have got your test booked for day two and all of that needs to be checked by the carrier – the airline usually – before you travel.

“So the place to expect queues is the airport you are coming from. Once you get back to the UK all of that is starting to be automated.

“People should expect more disruption than usual but I know that everyone is working very hard to minimise those queues.”

8:03AM

Mandatory Covid tests for five-year-olds is price for family holidays

Grant Shapps is facing a backlash over mandatory PCR tests for children as young as five as part of plans to scrap quarantine for fully vaccinated holidaymakers visiting amber countries from July 19.

Parents and academics claimed it was unnecessary and potentially harmful to test such young children, while tourism chiefs warned the extra costs for holidays could price many families out of foreign travel.

The Transport Secretary announced that all children aged five to 18 will have to undergo PCR tests when they return from amber countries with their parents or individually. Only those aged four or under will not have to be tested.

The tests are required as part of the Government’s new travel regime for double-jabbed adults and all children to be able to travel to amber countries from July 19 without having to quarantine on their return to the UK.

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7:55AM