Brits can now travel to The Canary Islands, Mykonos, the Maldives and Denmark without having to quarantine for two weeks on their return.
From 4am on Sunday, people arriving to the UK from these destinations will no longer need to self-isolate after the destinations were added to the UK Government’s travel corridor list.
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However people arriving into the UK from Liechtenstein from this Sunday will now find themselves having to self-isolate. The European country was the only nation added to the prohibited list in the latest update.
Flights returning
The travel company Tui immediately announced it was resuming flights to the Canaries from Saturday.
Its managing director, Andrew Flintham, said the removal of quarantine requirements for the islands was “a positive step forward for our business and all our customers who wish to enjoy a well-deserved break overseas”.
But he urged ministers to “work closely with the industry on airport testing so we can open up more destinations in the coming weeks”.
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The travel trade organisation Abta welcomed “a bit of light at the end of a very dark tunnel for the industry”. A spokeswoman said: “We have been highlighting the need to move to a regional approach to quarantine, citing the Canary Islands as a specific example, so it is good to see the Government take action on this today.
“But we must remember that the pandemic brought foreign travel to a standstill and for most companies there has been little or no chance to start a recovery.”
Rules changing weekly
The weekly update by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps comes as the UK’s instance of the virus continued to increase. Britain and Northern Ireland now has a higher reproduction rate than many other European countries from which people must self-isolate.
A woman wearing a protective mask is seen on the beach as the regional government of the Canary Islands (Photo: Reuters)
Most popular holiday destinations for Brits remain on the quarantine list, including Spain, Portugal, France and Turkey.
All travellers, including those from exempt destinations, will still be required to show a complete passenger locator form on arrival into the UK unless they fall into a small group of exemptions.
Penalties for those breaching the self-isolation rules when returning from non-exempt countries have increased from £1,000 for first offences up to £10,000 for subsequent offences, mirroring penalties for those breaching self-isolation following a positive coronavirus test or contact from Test and Trace.
