Covid: All remaining countries on England's travel red list to be removed

All seven remaining countries on England's international travel red list will be removed from 4am on Monday November 1, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed.

It means an end to expensive hotel quarantine for passengers arriving from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

However the removal of the seven countries does not mean an end to the policy, as Mr Shapps confirmed it would be kept "as a precautionary measure to protect public health and are prepared to add countries and territories back if needed, as the UK’s first line of defence".

The announcement will only apply to England, but the devolved administrations have recently implemented Westminster’s changes to international travel rules.

This would bring the UK into line with most of the rest of Europe.

Travellers arriving from a red list destination are currently required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £2,285.

The policy was introduced as part of measures to reduce the risk from arriving travellers infected with coronavirus.

But it has been blamed for contributing to UK travel firms struggling to recover from the pandemic.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “There’s no justification now for any country to be on a red list or for hotel quarantine to be in existence.

“There have been no new variants of concern since May and countries are now learning that blanket border measures, such as blocking whole countries, don’t work.

The red list has been blamed for contributing to UK travel firms struggling to recover from the pandemic.
Kirsty O'Connor

“The best approach is to check for an individual’s vaccine status and ensure they are up to date if they want to travel without restrictions.

“It’s encouraging that the UK Government have finally cottoned on to this.

“The current seven countries on the red list, such as Panama and Colombia, will be delighted if they are taken off it later today.”