Travel list changes announced – UAE and France return to Amber, Spain remains Amber

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• Harry Holden says:

  5 Aug5 August 10:15

  This is mostly good news, but I don’t think we will ever get to feeling more normal until quarantine free travel to North America starts again. That is when schedules will be fuller and airports will feel more normal.

  My lack of belief really falls into how on earth the government can think they cannot put somebody up in a £30 per night hotel, with airline style full board food, add in minimum wage security and an Uber and cannot make a healthy profit from £1,750. OK – maybe if it was one passenger, but when they have hotels at high occupancy, somebody is coining it in. This explains everything wrong with the public sector who thinks it costs £750 to drop a bit of tarmac in a pothole. And they will have a committee meeting to prove it. Sorry to those good eggs in the public sector.

  If the government said, “in an attempt to reduce arrivals from red list countries to absolutely must travels”, I would have more respect. However, as they say to better reflect costs, you wonder which costs they are referring to.

  • JDB says:

    5 Aug5 August 10:35

    I really don’t think the government or even the private sector companies are making much out of this. There are so many obvious additional costs you don’t mention including now the government paying to operate T4 as the red arrivals terminal. You can’t just factor in minimum wage security; an employer has to pay NI and other fair costs to manage the staff and overheads. PCR tests to be paid for as well etc. etc. It’s a bit like saying pizza restaurants are only putting together a bit a flour, water, tomato & cheese so are making a killing selling a pizza for £12, but they aren’t (look at their accounts) and some were going bust before covid.

  • Peter says:

    5 Aug5 August 12:18

    I still don’t get why anyone would pay to go into hotel quarantine in the UK. There are so many third countries where you can spend 10 days instead and will be cheaper than £2000. Maybe they don’t bother researching it?

    • Rob says:

      5 Aug5 August 12:24

      Can’t argue … I mean, with £4,000 to spend, a couple could have a VERY nice holiday for 10 days somewhere on the Green or Amber list.

    • Russ says:

      5 Aug5 August 12:56

      Apparently a second person in the room now also has to pay. Hopefully rates per person per room won’t become the new norm….

    • MinR says:

      5 Aug5 August 13:43

      +1

      Did just that.

      Immigration officer at LHR T5 – ‘Did you spend 11 days in Spain to get round the Quarantine Restrictions because you were in a Red list country before that?

      Me – 🙂

    • Dawn says:

      5 Aug5 August 16:24

      Agreed – I just spent 8 weeks in Turkey and then went to Malta for 11 nights to avoid the quarantine. Had a really easy journey, came back a week ago. Was well worth it.

    • LS says:

      5 Aug5 August 19:43

      A colleague of mine is in Kenya, with his Kenyan wife. He is British, wife is Kenyan (with UK spousal visa). Not vaccinated (unavailable there). He has to juggle countries which will let both a UK and Kenyan national in, unvaccinated, and ideally would be on the UK Green list, so can return without quarantine. Very few options indeed. I think he is looking in to Dubai now, but that is amber, so they have to quarantine again in UK.

      • KP says:

        5 Aug5 August 22:00

        I’m a Kenyan living in UK and I can assure you that the vaccine is very much available in Kenya. In fact there’s an oversupply and currently no takers. Your colleagues can quite easily get the vaccine if they’re in Nairobi

  • J says:

    5 Aug5 August 14:35

    It would be far cheaper to fit arrivals with electronic tags and subject them to house arrest for 10 days. I wonder how many would take up that option if it were offered.

    • LS says:

      5 Aug5 August 19:46

      If you have a house to yourself, that would work. Otherwise, you would also have to tag everyone else in the household. For many, would not be practical. For those with a spare place, or live on their own/with who they are travelling with, it would work. But then you would have to pay to rent the tag equipment, people to monitor it, installation etc. Wouldn’t surprise me if it were £1750 for all that

      • J says:

        5 Aug5 August 22:01

        It was quoted at £9 per day by the Conservatives a couple of years ago when they were pushing for more electronic tagging. Obviously there’s the pandemic premium to factor in – so probably more like £200 per day…

• Stephen Walker says:

  5 Aug5 August 10:24

  Anyone have any idea what the hell is going on with Canada? I did wonder given dominic raabs understanding of dover being close to calais and not really grasping that reunion island is 6000 miles from paris whether i should point out that North America isnt a country and Canada isnt part of USA!!!
  And it isnt green yet in spite of low infections, high vaccination rates etc.
  Vested interest – my fiancees family are due in from canada for our 5th attempt at wedding in mid september – her parents are flying in on 21sr aug – if they have to self isolate its not the end of the world her brother is only due in less than a week before wedding so on current rules would be stuffed.

  • John says:

    5 Aug5 August 10:42

    Canada doesn’t want travel to and from the UK until 7 September so are asking the UK to align with those dates

    • Stephen Walker says:

      5 Aug5 August 11:06

      Hi John – first time I have seen 7th Sept mentioned. Do you have a source for that? Many thanks

    • John says:

      5 Aug5 August 15:39

      Because half the routes to Australia passed through red countries until recently and Australians aren’t allowed to leave for leisure, Kiwis can leave but returning is difficult. Canadians could quarantine at home

• Peter says:

  5 Aug5 August 10:49

  URGENT HELP NEEDED please!

  Can any HFP people help? My sister is flying to Spain tomorrow but the Spanish Health Declaration form isn’t accepting her vaccine which was Vaxzevira 4120Z003 – one of the codes in the press from the Indian batch.

  Has anyone successfully filled in the form with ones of the affected batch codes?

  Or any advice on what to do?

  I know the press says Spain is accepting these codes but I can’t bear the thought of her being turned away without a QR code.

  (Apologies for also posting this on chat thread).

  Thanks.

  • Sean says:

    5 Aug5 August 11:02

    My mum filled it and traveled with no issues last week with similar indian batch vaccine.

  • ChrisBCN says:

    5 Aug5 August 11:15

    Are you sure that is the reason that the form isn’t being accepted? Have you tried using a different browser?

  • Dan Dodex says:

    5 Aug5 August 12:21

    The Spanish form does not ask for batch numbers so that is not the reason it is being rejected

    • Peter says:

      5 Aug5 August 14:18

      Thanks for your help everyone. So much appreciated. In the end I did a dummy run. Turns out my sister had been ticking that she had an EU vaccine certificate. I pointed out we are not in the EU. 🙄. Two hours wasted! But a holiday assured at least!!

  • Harry T says:

    5 Aug5 August 12:49

    It doesn’t ask for batch numbers – the type of vaccine should be in the drop down list.

• mutley says:

  5 Aug5 August 11:42

  So I travel to Mexico, ( now red) stay for 14 days, then enter the US, stay for 4 days and return to UK either direct or via Amsterdam, I’m guessing as the last two countries are amber then I’m good with day 2 testing?

• mutley says:

  5 Aug5 August 11:43

  sorry USA for 14 days!

  • Optimus Prime says:

    5 Aug5 August 11:48

    You only need 10 days in the US, not 14.

• DBEV says:

  5 Aug5 August 13:13

  Am i right in thinking that India going Amber is currently no good to anyone other than Indian nationals who are in the UK? Seems that India isn’t issuing visas for arrival from the UK . My business visa has run out and I have a ticket to India next week which I currently won’t be able to use as a British national.

  • KP says:

    5 Aug5 August 13:52

    I thought India-UK are in the travel corridor and hence youre ok to apply for a visa ?

    • DBev says:

      5 Aug5 August 14:15

      UK or anything appropriate isn’t on the list of nationalities list when trying to apply for an e-business visa. Hope that changes over the coming days as it’s impossible to speak to anyone regarding it.

• Anna says:

  5 Aug5 August 13:52

  Why is our government incapable of banning travel for other than essential reasons to red list countries instead of faffing around with hotel quarantine?

  • JDB says:

    5 Aug5 August 14:50

    A great many of the red list arrivals are simply returning UK citizens or residents (non resident foreigners are not currently allowed from red list countries) many of whom have been away for a long time for many legitimate reasons. I don’t think many of those limited number of people who are flying out to red list countries to quarantine on return are doing so for holidays/fun.

  • John says:

    5 Aug5 August 15:43

    The government shouldn’t be banning travel anywhere unless it’s stay at home or stay within 10 miles of your home etc

    • Anna says:

      5 Aug5 August 21:36

      Plenty of other countries’ governments have!

      • John says:

        6 Aug6 August 07:25

        And those governments shouldn’t have either, or are known to disregard human rights.

• KP says:

  5 Aug5 August 14:07

  Want to book BA to DUbai but can only see one flight a week. Im guessing theyll load more flights soon as it has turned amber. When can we expect them to load more flights? Want to book ASAP for Aug bank holiday !!

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