Ministers are planning on making overseas travel less complicated next month by scrapping the 'traffic light' system. But less complicated does not mean fairer, as a new system could be based on Covid vaccination.
Just seven countries have been added to the Government's 'Green List'. And one of them – Canada– currently has a ban on Britons entering the country anyway.
More than 50 companies will be removed from the Gov.uk site that lists approved travel testing providers following reports that many are charging more than their advertised costs and are failing to hand over results.
Analysis shows that, in England alone, rules on international travel have changed 50 times since the first lockdown – and that’s before the rules change again next week!
Holidaymakers are being charged up to four times the price advertised on the Government's website for PCR tests. The Government has cut the cost of its own tests, but these will still put a family of four back by £272.
The costs of PCR tests, which are undoubtedly pricing many Brits out of holidays abroad, should be capped at £40 and scrapped altogether for those travelling from 'low risk' countries, Tory MPs have told the Government.
Complaints of "prison-like" conditions at quarantine hotels, costing Red List travellers £1,750 for 10 days, don't seem to have led to any improvements, with one Brit now saying his hotel has a rodent infestation.
The idea that proof of Covid vaccination is required to travel abroad "is a reality... in this new world", says Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who believes this could be "a feature for evermore".
The campaign to "cajole" young people into getting vaccinated against Covid has continued today, with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warning that "if they want to travel internationally again", they must get 'jabbed'.
The Government is believed to be considering moving both Spain and Greece onto the "Amber Plus" List alongside France, a decision that could ruin the holiday plans of millions of Brits.
