Grant Shapps warns of major problems reopening Transatlantic travel
Grant Shapps warns of major problems bringing back quarantine-free travel from the US as there are ’50 different systems’ for proving whether Americans are double-jabbed and some are paper-based rather than digital
- Grant Shapps has warned over issues with efforts to reopen travel with the US
- Transport Secretary pointed to different US systems for proving vaccine status
- By contrast the EU is setting up a single digital app to show if people are jabbed
Grant Shapps today warned of major challenges bringing back quarantine-free Transatlantic travel with parts of the US having different systems for proving whether Americans are double-jabbed.
The Transport Secretary said the government is working on plans to allow fully-vaccinated people to visit the UK without needing to self-isolate.
But he cautioned that it will be ‘easier’ to organise for some places than others, pointing out that there are ’50 different systems’ for proving vaccine status in the US – many of them paper based.
By contrast the EU has been setting up a digital app that will apply across the bloc, similar to the NHS arrangements.
Mr Shapps announced yesterday that from so-called ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19, people who have received both doses in the UK can visit amber-list destinations without having to quarantine on their return.
Grant Shapps said the government is working on plans to allow fully-vaccinated people to visit the UK without needing to quarantine
There are currently severe restrictions on travel to and from the US. Pictured, details from the Sky Scanner website
Speaking on Sky News, he said he expected to be able to make an announcement ‘in the next couple of weeks’ on extending the benefit 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.
But he added: ‘It is easier done from some places, like the EU where they have a digital app coming along, than it is in the United States where I think they have 50 different systems, one for each state.’
Airlines, businesses and the tourism industry have been stressing the importance of reopening travel links with the US.
America does not currently allow Britons to visit for non-essential reasons.
But it is on the UK’s ‘amber list’ and has a high vaccination rate, meaning that if the self-isolation exemption for the double-jabbed could be extended to US citizens it could significantly free up movement.
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.
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.
‘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.’
Announcing the move in the Commons, Mr Shapps confirmed that from the so-called ‘Freedom Day’, double-jabbed people can visit amber-list destinations without having to quarantine on their return