Travel corridors: Santorini, Zakynthos, Lesvos, Tinos and Serifos all added to quarantine-free list
No countries will be removed from the government’s list of quarantine-free travel corridors this week, but five Greek islands have been added to the list.
Travellers returning to the UK from Santorini, Zakynthos, Lesvos, Tinos and Serifos will no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks, the Transport Secretary confirmed.
Grant Shapps tweeted: “TRAVEL CORRIDOR UPDATE: We are ADDING Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Santorini and Zakynthos to the #TravelCorridor list this week.
“From 4am Saturday 10 October, if you arrive from those Greek islands, you will NO LONGER need to self-isolate.
“We are not REMOVING any countries.”
He added that all those entering the UK, no matter where they’re arriving from, must complete a Passenger Locator Form “to protect public health and help keep everyone safe.”
The five islands have also been removed from the Foreign Office’s (FCDO) no-go list, meaning it no longer advises against non-essential travel there.
The FCDO has also lifted its advice against travelling to Mauritius, which is already on the list of travel corridors.
“It’s a welcome sign to see some Greek islands getting their safe corridors back,” said travel consultant Paul Charles, who has predicted changes to the quarantine-free list with a high degree of accuracy over the last few months.
“With the UK infection rate being higher than many countries, other corridors should be restored soon so that the travel sector can try to return to growth.”
It follows speculation that Greece, Sweden and Italy could be added to the no-go list, as all three had reported new coronavirus case rates above the UK’s former cut-off point of 20 per 100,000 residents. The UK’s own rate of new cases is now 136.6, nearly seven times greater than the previous threshold.
This week has seen calls for the government to introduce new measures to help “save” the travel industry grow increasingly forceful.
Industry publication TTG launched a #SaveTravel social media campaign on the morning of 8 October, with the hashtag used more than 5,000 times in just a few hours.
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