Relaxation of rules is ‘real progress’ Ian Taylor


The government performed a U-turn on two major travel restrictions in its latest review, leading industry sources to hail “real progress” entering the final days of the summer peak. It dropped the requirement for


vaccinated travellers returning from France to quarantine as well as plans for an ‘amber watchlist’ – ditched by Boris Johnson following a storm of criticism. The amber watchlist was portrayed as a ‘new’ idea but was among the traffic light system proposals published on May 7. The government also added


Germany, Austria, Slovenia and four other EU countries to the green list


and switched the UAE, Qatar, India and Bahrain to ‘amber’, enabling transit via Dubai and Doha. Industry leaders warned the


measures don’t go far enough. But a senior industry source


insisted: “We’ve seen real progress. We can travel and people can arrive here. Not a huge number of destinations are open but the UAE and Qatar opening is good for arrivals.” The source downplayed a


government warning that vaccination restrictions for travellers could become permanent. Transport secretary Grant Shapps


warned last week “there are things you won’t be able to do unless you’re double-vaccinated, including going abroad” as the government sought


Negotiations on US-UK reopening ‘entirely unfruitful’


Ian Taylor


Hopes of travel to the US restarting imminently remain limited despite intense lobbying and the UK opening up to vaccinated US arrivals last week. A senior UK industry source told


Travel Weekly: “It doesn’t bode well for travel to the US that the US is having another spike [in Covid-19 infections].” Florida and states across the US south face a fresh wave. The White House confirmed


President Biden’s administration is working on plans to require international visitors to the US to be


4 12 AUGUST 2021


fully vaccinated, but a spokesman insisted the government would “maintain existing travel restrictions at this point”. Canada became the latest country


to open its borders to US visitors on Monday without the US acting reciprocally. Britain opened to vaccinated US arrivals on August 2 and the EU did so in mid-June, but the US remains closed to arrivals from the UK, Ireland and the EU’s Schengen area. The joint US-UK taskforce on


transatlantic travel, announced in early June, appears to have made little progress.


on ‘evermore’. We’re all scrambling around. The pandemic has surprised us at every turn. The vaccines were supposed to be the answer but it turns out they’re not [on their own].” The government left testing


requirements unchanged, with a second source insisting: “The key issue now is the cost of testing.” The cost of hotel quarantine for


to boost vaccination rates among younger adults. He told the BBC: “Full vaccination is going to be a feature for evermore.” The source acknowledged


“prospects for travel beyond Europe look ropey and we’re looking at restrictions remaining for some time”, but insisted: “No one knows what’s going to happen. I wouldn’t bet


arrivals from red list countries was also increased to £2,285 for a single adult, and £1,430 for a second adult, from August 12. The next red-amber-green


country review is due just before the August bank holiday and the next


system review by October 1. i Testing costs, page 6 i Get Social, page 31


South Beach, Miami


The source told Travel Weekly:


“The UK is trying to engage but the US won’t move. The negotiations have been entirely unfruitful. The US doesn’t really give a damn about us being able to get there. They are not as dependent on UK tourists and spending as we are on them. “Biden’s administration just does


not want to let people in. They are being incredibly strict.” Iata director general Willie Walsh


dismissed the UK-US taskforce last month as a means “to avoid making a decision”.


Eamonn Brennan, director


general of European air traffic management organisation Eurocontrol, also dismissed hopes of an imminent restart, warning last month: “We don’t see any evidence that the US and EU or the UK are engaging on a restart.” However, Lufthansa chief


executive Carsten Spohr noted last week: “The North Atlantic is already back to being our most important long-haul market even though we can


only sell on one side.” i Destinations, page 32


travelweekly.co.uk


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