On Friday, the UK Government announced their long-anticipated review for travelling to and from the UK. The new measures come into force at 4am on Monday 4th October.
Holiday companies have reported a surge in bookings, and PayingTooMuch witnessed a large increase in travel insurance sales this weekend.
Red light for the traffic lights
The traffic light system has been scrapped – which is good news. Hopefully, we’ve seen the end of panic booking return flights because you’re in a country about to go red.
The traffic light system has been replaced with a single red list. Rules for returning from countries on the red list remains the same as before, regardless of vaccination status. This includes a pre-departure PCR test and a 10-day hotel quarantine package.
Any country not on the red list is considered the 'rest of the world'. Eight countries have been taken off the red list. These are Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey.
Good news for anyone wanting some winter sun in Maldives, Turkey or Egypt this autumn.
The red list can be found here.
A simplified system for vaccinated travellers
If you are vaccinated, travel is about to become very easy. From 4am on 4th October, you can return from any non-red list country without a pre-departure test, and you won't need to quarantine.
You'll just need to complete a passenger locator form and take a COVID test on day two after arriving in the UK. The Government has announced their intention to replace the costly day two PCR test with the cheaper lateral flow test, hopefully in time for the October half-term.
These rules also apply to residents from 17 countries. If residents of other countries enter the UK from a country, not on the list, they will be treated as non-vaccinated.
The logic of this isn't apparent. We expect more countries, such as Dubai, to join the other 17 shortly.
Full details can be found here.
Un-vaccinated travellers can still travel
The Government set out new rules for unvaccinated travellers too. However, if you are unvaccinated, you will likely find it hard to travel into most countries.
The rules for unvaccinated passengers, or travellers who don’t qualify under the full vaccinated rules, are the same as the previous rules for returning from an amber list country.
You’ll need:
- A pre-departure COVID test taken within 72hr of travel
- Complete a passenger locator form
- Book a day two and day eight testing package
- Home quarantine for ten days on arrival into the UK
- Test to release on day five is possible
Full details can be found here.
Good news?
Yes – excellent news. Less good news if you're from Scotland, though. Although the traffic light system has been scrapped, the Scottish Government have kept the testing requirements. Therefore, travellers from Scotland will still face the added costs that these tests incur.
Travel Insurance
If you're lucky enough to have booked some half-term sun, don't forget your travel insurance. Now's the best time to buy to insure your holiday against the risk of anything happening, which means you can't travel.
PayingTooMuch has an outstanding selection of policies to suit all your needs. Get a quote online or call our team on 01243 784000.
