Travel news latest: Holiday rush as international travel resumes
International travel resumes for people in England today, with a new ‘traffic light’ system enabling quarantine-free holidays to a select number of destinations.
Up to 5,000 British holidaymakers will travel to Portugal and Madeira today, with flights also running to green listed Iceland and Gibraltar. This comes after international travel has been banned for non-essential reasons since mid-January.
Flights are also running to a number of ‘amber list’ countries, which require a ten-day quarantine on return. Tui has two flights to the Greek island of Corfu, and there are multiple departures to the Costa del Sol.
This comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Times Radio: “The red and amber list are places that you shouldn’t go to unless you have an absolutely compelling reason.”
Telegraph Travel has writers travelling overseas, reporting on the reopening of international travel, while our Hotel Hit Squad hits the road as hotels reopen for the first time in months. You can follow all the latest updates below, and on Twitter using #GreatUnlock.
Watch: Optimism in travel industry as foreign leisure travel ban lifted
Follow all the latest updates below.
07:33 AM
Balearic Islands want to join the party
The Balearic Islands is launching a significant push to get onto the UK's green list.
Iago Negueruela, Minister of Tourism, says the Balearic government has approved a 'Tourism Reactivation Plan' – a €11 million initiative to "facilitate the safe reopening to international tourists."
"As part of the plan, we are launching the 'Safety Pack', an updated safety protocol to protect the tourism workers, and showcase the safety in the destination, with various guides aiming at reducing the spread of Covid-19 in the archipelago," Negueruela said.
The destination will cap the cost of PCR tests for those returning home to €75, and €30 for an antigen test.
"A huge effort is taking place behind the scenes to start once again receiving tourists. We look forward to opening our doors to British visitors very soon."
07:22 AM
The scene at Heathrow Airport
Gordon Rayner is off to Lisbon this morning. He describes Heathrow as "not exactly heaving"
Not exactly heaving, but holidaymakers are finally on the move pic.twitter.com/em7eEsnPe2
— Gordon Rayner (@gordonrayner) May 17, 2021
07:16 AM
Which countries are on the holiday 'green list' today?
You can travel back from the following countries into the UK without quarantine. However, you can only travel to the first three without significant restrictions on arrival.
Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira)
Iceland
Gibraltar
Australia
New Zealand
Singapore
Brunei
Faroe Islands
Falkland Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Saint Helena, Ascension & Tristan da Cunha
Israel
Watch: Should I book a holiday in 2021?
