Warnings of SIX-HOUR airport queues and chaos lasting for WEEKS
Warnings of SIX-HOUR airport queues and chaos lasting for WEEKS as Grant Shapps ditches amber-list quarantine for double-jabbed Brits from July 19 – with pressure growing on minister to act NOW to head off the delays
- Grant Shapps warned of border chaos as he announced fully vaccinated Britons will not have to self-isolate
- The Transport Secretary confirmed that, from July 19, double-jabbed people can visit amber-list destinations
- But sources warned that extra checks could initially result in queues at borders of up to six hours
Grant Shapps warned holidaymakers to expect border chaos as he announced that millions of fully vaccinated Britons will not have to self-isolate after trips abroad.
The Transport Secretary confirmed that, from July 19, double-jabbed people can visit amber-list destinations without having to quarantine on their return.
But sources have warned that the extra checks associated with the freedoms could initially result in queues at borders of up to six hours.
Yesterday’s announcement means quarantine-free holidays to major European destinations such as Greece, Spain and Portugal can get under way for the first time since last year. For the double-jabbed, it also effectively turns 147 destinations currently on the amber list into green-list destinations.
Currently, Britons returning from amber-list countries have to self-isolate at home for up to ten days after their return.
MPs and tourism leaders hailed the announcement as ‘a shot in the arm’ for the beleaguered travel sector and UK economy.
But they also warned that the cost of tests remains a ‘barrier’ to foreign travel for many families as they urged ministers to drive down prices further.
Announcing the move in the Commons, Mr Shapps warned that the extra checks which come with the overhaul could see huge queues at both foreign and UK borders.
And, a Whitehall source said Border Force is ‘nowhere near ready’ to cope with the changes.
The source predicted that the agency was unlikely to have upgraded its system until next month, potentially leading to weeks of chaos at the border.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed today that new ‘amber list’ rules will kick in from July 19
‘You could easily be looking at queues of six hours to start with,’ the source said.
‘The Border Force is nowhere near ready. What no-one knows is how much extra traffic there will be as a result of the change.’
Earlier this year queues of up to seven hours were seen at Heathrow Airport despite passenger numbers being around 15 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
There was also confusion last night about whether the Foreign Office will fully align its travel advice to the new amber rules.
It currently advises against non-essential travel to most amber destinations, invalidating most insurance policies and putting people off travel. Last night the Foreign Office dropped its advice against non-essential travel to 23 destinations – including France, Greece, the Greek islands, Spain and the US.
But it was unclear if it would be changed for the more than 100 other amber destinations.
In the Commons, former prime minister Theresa May hailed the easing of restrictions for the double-jabbed as ‘the first step in opening up Britain for business’.
But she called on Mr Shapps to broker a deal with fellow ministers to boost border resources to avoid ‘inordinately long queues’.
Responding, Mr Shapps said: ‘Quite a lot of the check-in would be done before you board the aircraft, or what could also be a train or boat, from the location you’re coming back from. And so the queues at check-in, whilst you’re abroad, may in fact be the place where those problems most exist.
‘I know that many of the airlines are developing systems to further automate that check-in, but they will be doing quite a complicated job.’ Asked by Tory MP Sir Roger Gale what would be done to ensure the UK-French Channel border runs smoothly, Mr Shapps said: ‘These additional checks are likely to cause delays, potentially on both sides of the Channel this summer, and that people will want to prepare and plan their journeys with supplies and also ensure that they have picked the best time of day to travel in order to avoid it.’
Tory MP Huw Merriman said the revamped amber rules were ‘a shot in the arm’ for the double-vaccinated and the travel industry, but tackled Mr Shapps over the cost of testing.
The current traffic light system has very few recognised holiday destinations on the ‘green list’ for Britons to visit
Mr Shapps’ announcement means that for fully-vaccinated Britons the rules will be essentially the same for green and amber list countries
Mr Merriman urged ministers to consider allowing travellers to use cheaper, rapid tests upon arrival in England rather than the more costly ‘gold standard’ PCR swabs.
But Mr Shapps said the ‘scientific evidence’ showed PCR tests were needed because they can be used to detect variants of concern. He said ‘there are quite a number of tests now for much lower prices’ and cited some on the government-approved list ‘as inexpensive as a tenner’.
But these are for swabs which are self-administered at sites that people often have to travel miles to reach and yesterday most were sold out.
Some of the prices stated on the government website are also wrong. The Daily Mail found that the cost of a post-arrival test listed as £4.98 from one firm on the government website was in fact £85 when clicking through to the company’s webpage.
The travel industry largely welcomed the announcement, but called for testing requirements for the fully vaccinated to be dropped altogether and more countries be added to the green list.
There was also anger from domestic tourism firms that the new measures will not apply to foreign visitors coming from amber countries, who will still have to quarantine. It means these firms will continue to be starved of the cash spent by visiting foreigners.
British Airways chief Sean Doyle said: ‘While the quarantine requirement for amber countries is being lifted for fully vaccinated UK travellers, the Government needs to quickly extend this to all vaccinated travellers, agree a reciprocal deal with the US, add more countries to the green list and reduce the need for unnecessary, expensive tests.’
Holiday firms have been gearing up for a bookings surge with quarantine-free trips unlocked for millions of families to more than 130 countries – including the US, Thailand and most European countries.
Quarantine-free holidays are set to be unlocked for millions of families to more than 130 countries – including the US, Thailand and Spain (pictured, Malaga)
Sky Scanner has produced an interactive service that tells travellers what restrictions they currently face at both ends of their journey
As it stands, travellers returning from these destinations must quarantine for up to ten days – regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not.
Only travellers returning from a small list of green countries can avoid quarantine.
Mr Shapps told the Commons: ‘I can confirm today that from the 19th of July, UK residents who are fully vaccinated through the UK vaccine rollout will no longer have to self-isolate when they return to England.
‘They’ll still be required to take a test three days before returning, the pre-departure test, demonstrating they’re negative before they travel, and a PCR test on or before day two, but they will no longer be required to take a day eight test.
‘In essence, this means that for fully vaccinated travellers the requirements for green and amber list countries are the same.
‘To be clear, a full vaccination means 14 days have passed since your final dose of the vaccine, and it’s also important to note that health matters are devolved, so decision-making and implementation may differ across the UK administrations and we’ll continue to work with the devolved administrations to ensure we achieve our shared objectives of safe, sustainable and robust return to international travel.’
Mr Shapps said the changes he had announced would ‘prioritise those vaccinated in the United Kingdom’ – but suggested that foreign tourists coming to England could soon benefit from the same treatment.
‘We want to welcome international visitors back to the UK and are working to extend our approach to vaccinated passengers from important markets and holiday destinations later this summer, such as the United States and the EU,’ he said.
Mr Shapps said he would update MPs in ‘due course’ on the issue.
Former PM Theresa May urged Mr Shapps to take action to make sure that travellers did not face massive queues due to Covid red tape.
He said ‘a lot of investment’ was going into minimising the issues – but admitted there is likely to be longer waits.
‘I have been working with the Home Secretary and Border force on exactly this issue,’ he said.
‘I should be perhaps a little but more specific about where travellers might expect queues. Quite a lot of the checking will be done upstream, in other words before you board the aircraft typically, or it could be a train or a boat, from your location you are coming back from.
‘The queues at check in whilst you are abroad may in fact bye the place where those problems most exist.
‘I know that many of the airlines are developing systems to further automate that check-in but they will be doing quite a complicated job – checking the passenger locator form against the booked test still required on day two and of course vaccine status as well.
‘So I just think it is fair to warn people who are travelling this summer that is something we haven’t had to do before.’
The news was warmly welcomed by the travel industry. British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said: ‘We’re pleased to see this common sense approach which is already working safely for many other countries, but there is more work to do.
‘While the quarantine requirement for amber countries is being lifted for fully vaccinated UK travellers, the government needs to quickly extend this to all vaccinated travellers, agree a reciprocal deal with the US, add more countries to the green list and reduce the need for unnecessary, expensive tests.’
Amid growing speculation in recent days, comparison site TravelSupermarket said more than half of all new bookings were for the last week of July or first week of August – up from 10 per cent a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile 62 per cent of all package holiday searches are for July/August, up 20 per cent on last month.
British Airways said searches for holidays to amber list countries on its website yesterday were up 45 per cent compared with the same day last week. And Jet2 said it had seen ‘enormous demand’ for flights.
Martin Nolan, of booking site Skyscanner, said: ‘It is clear that people are aching to be able to travel again… as evidenced by the immediate uptick in searches and bookings.’
Paul Charles, CEO of The PC Agency, a travel consultancy, said firms were racing to bring staff back off furlough to handle the expected surge in bookings.
He said: ‘My advice is for people to lock in tomorrow on the deals they see before there’s an announcement because prices will rise when demand spikes.
‘I think we will see a lot of last-minute bookings for trips at short notice. Families will confirm some trips but then you will get a lot of couples that are fully-jabbed.
‘I think there will be a rush to the border by the double-jabbed over-40s and the silver generation.
‘The pent up demands is enormous. There will be a lot of trips to long-distance, more exotic locations. But Spain, France and Portugal will also all do really well.’
He added: ‘One issue is resources and whether firms have the staff and capacity to deliver it.
‘I know some travel firms that are bringing people back from furlough to cope with the expected increase in demand.’
Under the revamped rules, the ‘do not travel’ advice will be dropped and vaccinated UK residents will be allowed to travel home from amber countries without the need to quarantine.
Children, who are not eligible for vaccination, will be exempted from self-isolation if they are travelling with family.
But they will have to take additional tests. According to the Telegraph, Mr Shapps has told the industry: ‘Day-two testing will remain for arrivals from amber countries, regardless of vaccinated status, as this pro vides genomic sequencing capability to identify the risk of importing variants.’
Those who have not received both vaccines will still have to quarantine when they arrive in the UK or face a £10,000 fine.
The change will make no difference to red list countries such as India, Turkey and Brazil.
Anyone returning from a red list country must quarantine in an approved hotel at a cost of £1,750 each.
British Airways said searches for holidays to amber list countries on its website yesterday were up 45 per cent compared with the same day last week