An update on the traffic light travel system is due to be made by the government later today.
With Portugal having been taken off the green list just three weeks after opening up the country for travel, it is hoped holidaymakers could be given more options for quarantine-free travel when the Government reviews its foreign travel list today (June 24).
An update of the lists which determine the quarantine and testing requirements for people arriving in the UK could see Malta and the Balearic Islands added to the green list, according to reports.
READ MORE: Budget airline Eurowings launches new flights from Bristol Airport for this autumn
The news comes after Bristol Airport announced it had been forced to cut 30 per cent of its workforce after taking a financial hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Airport bosses have been urging the government to "reinstate a risk managed approach to international travel" this summer.
The countries currently on the green list are:
- Australia
- Brunei
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Gibraltar
- Iceland
- Israel and Jerusalem
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
- St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
People arriving in the UK from green list destinations are not required to self-isolate, but there are currently no viable major tourist destinations in that tier.
However, Malta and the Balearic Islands, with its popular destinations of Mallorca and Ibiza, are among a “handful” of places being considered for addition to the green list, according to the Times.
Malta and Spain are currently on the Government’s amber list, alongside other popular summer hotspots such as Portugal, Italy and Greece, with a 10-day quarantine period at home required for people returning from those locations.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this week that the Government is “working on” plans to allow quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated Britons returning from amber locations.
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Asked about the prospect of restrictions being eased in the review, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the PA news agency: “Of course I very much hope the world could open up.
“We’ve got to follow the data, and that’s what we’ll be doing in the meetings over the next few days.”
Will you be going on holiday this year? Have you already booked somewhere? Let us know in the comments below.
