A family’s holiday has been thrown into chaos after the Government’s latest amber list reshuffle.
Lisa Rickard a mum-of-four, said the decision to add the Balearic Islands to the amber list means she could end up losing hundreds of pounds or be forced to take three weeks off from work to quarantine.
Lisa, 39, from near Glasgow in Scotland, says the reshuffle has "ruined holidays for thousands for thousands of families", the Daily Record reports.
She added: “The last time I was on holiday with all four of my children was three years ago. We’ve all been through a lot and I saw the cheap flights and just thought, 'go for it'.
“The joy has been sucked out of it.”
The care assistant booked for her and her four sons Robert, 19, Callum, 17, James, 7, and Liam, 6, to fly to Palma, Majorca, from Edinburgh on August 4 last week in a last-minute booking with flights that cost just £28 a head.
But just a day after paying hundreds of pounds for PCR tests, the Balearic Islands, made up of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza, was moved onto the amber travel list, which means that travellers who are over the age of 18 and not fully vaccinated will have to self-isolate at home for 10 days when they return to Scotland.
Lisa, Robert and Callum – who turns 18 while the family are on holiday – would have to isolate when they return home.
She had already forked out £375 for PCR tests she booked for herself and her two oldest sons.
Lisa added: “I was having a panic attack over the cost. We fly out on a Wednesday after a bank holiday Monday. I’ve had to pay for a private clinic because most of the places are shutting early and we have to coincide with a 48-hour timescale.
“I booked a whole new flight package to coincide with the tests.
“I’ve now got two packages sitting. I’m hoping I will be able to change them as they’re valid for a year.
“I booked the tests on Tuesday and the amber list announcement came out on Wednesday.”
Lisa said she is “determined” to try and make her plans work but said more notice should have been given to the changes to the travel list.
She said: “Majorca had only been on the green list for two weeks. There wasn’t an awful lot of chat about it going to amber. It was quite sudden.
“It’s just one step forward and two steps back. It’s not fair on people.
“I’m going to try and go to a drop-in centre for my second dose of the vaccine but if not that could mean I’m off work for three-weeks and I’m only part-time.
“If I cancel or postpone this I will be down to a lot of money in admin fees and lose the cash for my pre-paid tests and the boys will be devastated.
“I feel that people are starting to hit back at the restrictions now. People are wondering how long this is going to go on for.
“If I was to postpone there could be a fourth wave or a new variant. I’m determined to try and go. We all need it and there is a lot of money at stake to walk away from it.”
