Ministers were accused of ‘playing with people’s Christmases’ last night as they were poised to axe the travel ‘red list’ hotel quarantine scheme.
Furious tourism chiefs pointed out that thousands of travellers cancelled trips to see loved ones abroad after the ‘No-Go’ list was revived little more than two weeks ago.
South Africa, ten African countries and 10 others were also added in an effort to stop the Omicron variation spreading. The variant has spread to the UK, and other parts of the world.
Anybody arriving in the UK from countries on the red list were required to quarantine in hotels for 11 nights at a cost of £2,285.
Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary (pictured), is believed to have persuaded colleagues that testing at home while you quarantine should replace the “red list” for fully-vaccinated Britons.
Paul Charles, chief of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘The government has to create a long-term strategy for when new variants emerge. ‘They can’t keep switching the industry on and off because it damages the sector every time’
It has been criticized by the travel industry, who claim it will cause travel to cease during Christmas.
Grant Shapps the Transport Secretary is reported to have persuaded his colleagues that for fully-vaccinated Britons it should be replaced by testing at home and quarantining.
Data suggests that with Omicron spreading rapidly worldwide, draconian travel restrictions will have a limited impact on countries’ infection rates.
In England, fully-vaccinated foreigners might still need to be quarantined in hotels after landing.
A meeting of the so-called ‘Covid O’ committee of cabinet ministers will take place this week, with an announcement potentially as soon as today.
Paul Charles, chief of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘The government has to create a long-term strategy for when new variants emerge.
‘They can’t keep switching the industry on and off because it damages the sector every time.
‘The government is responsible for cancelling and playing with people’s Christmases when it comes to foreign travel. Many people had to cancel Christmas trips. They can’t continue to behave in this way.’
To stop the Omicron variant spreading, South Africa was added along with ten additional African countries. However, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly in the UK as well as around the world.
Furious tourism chiefs pointed out that thousands of travellers cancelled trips to see loved ones abroad after the ‘No-Go’ list was revived little more than two weeks ago
A meeting of the so-called ‘Covid O’ committee of cabinet ministers will take place this week, with an announcement potentially as soon as today
Pre-return testing has been reinstated since Omicron was created. However, post-arrival swabs must be performed by day two and should be more expensive PCR tests than quick lateral flow devices.
Travel industry is scathing about the move, claiming it will endanger travel during the Christmas season.
Last night, Airline CEOs met with Treasury officials in protest of the measures.
The changes mean the ‘red list’ is a policy likely to remain in place in case needed in future, but the eleven African countries currently on it will be removed.
The revival of the system has been plagued with issues, including travellers being unable to book hotel rooms because not enough have been acquired by ministers and reports of ‘grim’ food while quarantining.