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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Julie Delahaye

Brits can't holiday in Turkey or Maldives after UK travel red list is announced

Turkey, the Maldives and Nepal have been added to England's red list countries, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed in a press conference today.

That means that anyone returning to the UK from these destinations from 4am on Wednesday 12 May will be required to stay in a mandatory quarantine hotel in the Uk, forking out the £1,750 cost themselves.

The news comes as Turkey entered a national lockdown, with around 27,040 new infections being reported on average each day.

Non-essential travel continues to be banned, but the news will affect those who have headed abroad for legally permitted reasons.

It wasn't all bad news for holidaymakers though, he also confirmed that non-essential foreign travel will be able to resume from May 17 as planned.

This will include a traffic light system with countries placed on green, amber and red lists which determine quarantine requirements.

The most appealing will be the green list, as this doesn't require you to self-isolate when you're back from a destination. (You'll still need to take a pre-departure test, and PCR test on day two of your return).

12 countries made the initial cut including the likes of Portugal and Iceland, although not all 12 of them are open to Brits. Some continue to close their borders to tourists, while others are open but you'll need to quarantine on arrival.

Grant Shapps said: "Today marks the first step in our cautious return to international travel, with measures designed above all else to protect public health and ensure we don’t throw away the hard-fought gains we’ve all strived to earn this year.”

"This is a new way of doing things, and people should expect travel to be different this summer – with longer checks at the borders, as part of tough measures to prevent new strains of the virus entering the country and putting our fantastic vaccine rollout at risk."

Are you disappointed to see Turkey on the red list? Let us know in the comments below.

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