Britons in Portugal fume after being told to dash home before 4am Tuesday or face quarantine

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Holidays to Portugal have been thrown into chaos as ministers removed the popular European holiday destination from the travel green list amid concerns over the new Nepal coronavirus variant. 

The move triggered a furious diplomatic row, with Portugal’s president accusing UK ministers of ‘health fundamentalism’ and of being ‘obsessed’ with infection rates.

It also sparked a race among thousands of British holidaymakers in Portugal to get back before quarantine-on-return rules kick in on Tuesday, when the country is formally placed on the amber list.

Those booked to go to Portugal in coming weeks were left in limbo over whether to go ahead with their holiday under the tougher quarantine rules or to rebook for later in the summer and hope the country goes green again.

The decision to make Portugal amber was apparently triggered by concerns over the Nepal variant, a mutated version of the Indian strain. But Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal’s president, accused UK ministers of ‘not recognising that we live in a different situation than we lived before vaccination’.

He added: ‘The numbers are going up, but they are not increasing inpatients and ICU numbers and deaths. We can’t keep obsessively looking at it this way, ignoring that with vaccination, reality has changed.’

Albufeira-based bar owner Gary Search, 54, said he was ‘absolutely devastated’ by the decision. He said: ‘One of the bars is 98 per cent British tourists and in the other about 50 per cent of our customers are Brits who are also mostly holidaymakers. We’re absolutely devastated by today’s decision. 

‘We’d literally just got off the ground, we’d been scrabbling around all week getting new staff because obviously we couldn’t employ the staff till we got busy. 

‘There’s no staff here because of Brexit and Covid so it’s been extremely difficult. We’d just put them all on contracts and then this happens. It’s messed things right up to be honest.’

Pedro Neto, general manager of the luxury Vila Monte Farm House hotel in the Algarve, said the hotel was already receiving cancellations. He added: ‘It’s very difficult news to receive. 

‘We are a hotel with a lot of British guests and this is obviously not the news that we were hoping for. People are so happy to be here, the weather is beautiful, everything is working as it should so this is not the news we were expecting.’ 

The Portuguese foreign ministry was clearly bemused when it tweeted: ‘We take note of the British decision to remove Portugal from its green travel list, a decision whose logic is difficult to grasp.’

Moving Portugal from the green to the amber list means travellers will have to quarantine at home for ten days after visiting, while paying for and taking two Covid tests, on days two and eight. 

Further complications may arise if the Foreign Office changes its stance and advises against visiting Portugal, which would invalidate travel insurance. The move to downgrade Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores, to amber came despite there being just three deaths in the country in the latest 24-hour period.

Its infection rate is similar to the UK’s, with the rolling seven-day average being 53.63 cases per million of the population compared to the UK’s 51.41. Some 45 per cent of its adult population have received at least one dose.

But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the country’s infection rate had almost doubled since it was put on the green list three weeks ago. He added: ‘In the end we’ve seen two things that have caused concern – one thing is that the positivity rate has nearly doubled, since the last review, in Portugal.

‘And the other thing is there’s a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant which has been detected and we just don’t know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation. 

‘We simply don’t want to take the risk as we come up to June 21 and the review of the fourth stage of the [domestic] unlock.’ 

Mr Search, who is originally from Southend-on-Sea, runs his two bars with long-term partner Michelle Mundy, 51. 

‘We had our finger on the pulse and were more or less aware of what was going on but we really didn’t think it would happen,’ he said.

‘Portugal is just slightly over the numbers and there’s nothing in the Algarve at all. It’s all up in Lisbon. For everyone in the Algarve, not just us but also the tourists, it’s a complete nightmare.

‘I think the problem for people even if they try to scrabble around for flights back home before the new rules kick in and they have to quarantine is going to be that they’re tied to having Covid tests before they go and there’s a two to three-day waiting lists because the Covid test centres here are overloaded.

‘People need a Covid test to go home so they’re not going to get it till Saturday or Sunday at the earliest which makes it impossible for those who can to rearrange their flights.

‘Portugal has been the only major European holiday destination on the green list and we are in a very tourist area in Albufeira.

‘Basically the last week has been like a summer for the first time since 2019. It’s been great. We have a snack bar and we’ve been fully functioning.

‘Now it’s going to go down to literally nothing again, probably just a couple of hundred quid a day I would imagine and people are going to disappear this weekend. It’s a disaster.’ 

John Joyce, from Newcastle, and his family decided to book a holiday in sunny Portugal as soon as Britain added it to the green list of foreign destinations around three weeks ago.

‘Everybody needed a little break… a change from being stuck at home,’ the 44-year-old said as he enjoyed a beer at a restaurant in the heart of Lisbon.

Portugal was the only big beach destination placed on the list, which allowed Britons to travel there without needing to quarantine when returning home. Like Joyce, thousands packed their bags.

Reacting to developments today, though, Mr Joyce said: ‘It’s a bit unfair. There are families bringing out kids and people who booked their holidays already… and the stress involved for people, including myself.’

Charlotte Cheddle, 22, echoed the same feelings, urging the British government to either ‘ban international travel completely or communicate properly with people’.

‘It’s silly,’ she said. ‘We made an effort to get tested privately… We paid for everything and we have done everything to make it safe.’

British families in Portugal now face spending £1,000 for which they have not budgeted to buy PCR tests to get home. Upon returning to the UK, they will have to complete two tests on Days 2 and 8. 

Portugal has lifted most of its lockdown restrictions. The government has been heavily criticised for allowing thousands of mainly maskless English football to party in Porto during the Champions League final last weekend.  

The British government’s decision is a huge blow for Portugal’s tourism sector, which represents a significant chunk of GDP and has Britain as one of its biggest foreign markets.

‘It’s not great for businesses but slowly we will get there – or at least I really hope so because our economy is down,’ said restaurant manager Ana Paula Gomes in Lisbon.

The head of the hotels’ association in the touristy Algarve region, Eliderico Viegas, said Britain’s move would hit the sector like a ‘bucket of cold water’.

João Fernandes, President of Algarve Tourism, speaking in his first comments since the UK announcement, said: ‘As you can imagine we are bitterly disappointed to be moved to the amber list. 

‘In the Algarve region we host two thirds of the British overnight hotel stays in Portugal. And since the start of the pandemic the Algarve has had the lowest number of cases and better indicators than the rest of the country. 

‘Furthermore, Portugal has one of the highest levels of pandemic control and prevention in the EU, according to indicators in the latest ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) report.

‘The millions of Brits that visit us each year contribute to the livelihoods of many people in the region.

‘Our hotels, tour operators and airline partners will also once again be put in a difficult situation, trying to plan around these ever-changing rules.

‘For holidaymakers it is an impossible situation trying to book a holiday overseas, and I sympathise with those that were looking forward to visiting our beautiful region for a well-deserved break.

‘We hope they will re-arrange their holiday to the Algarve for later in the year rather than cancel completely.’  

Alfonso Rodriguez Badal, mayor of the municipality of Calvia which includes the popular British holiday resort of Magaluf, said the decision to keep the Balearic Islands on amber was a ‘surprise.’ 

He added: ‘It’s also obviously a disappointment.

‘We were confident we would go onto a green light rating because we understood people here had made a real effort to get our accumulated coronavirus rate down to a very low level to make us one of the safest if not the safest Mediterranean resort.

‘Therefore we felt this could give the UK enough confidence to let holidaymakers come here without imposing restrictions on their return.

‘It hasn’t happened but we are going to continue working towards achieving this and we are confident and hope that the next UK government revision will lead to Calvia and the Balearic Islands and the rest of Spain as well if it can happen, being given that green traffic light rating that will facilitate the arrivals of more tourists here.’ 

Iago Negueruela, regional Tourism Minister for the Balearic Islands which was hoping to be the sole Spanish region to be put on the UK’s green traffic light system, said he viewed the decision as that of a ‘sovereign state focused on its own domestic health situation’ in light of the June 21 Freedom Day date.

He added: ‘At the moment practically no Mediterranean holiday destination is open for the UK. We respect the British government’s decision.

‘Given the good vaccination rate in the UK if we can go onto a green rating in the next UK government revision, we’ll be in line with the estimations of the major tour operators like TUI and Jet2 who had said they would restart their operations towards the end of June.

‘The British market is a very important market for us and we hope to recover it towards the end of this month.’

Eduardo Jesus, the Regional Secretary for Culture and Tourism of Madeira, called the UK decision to demote it to amber ‘unfair and completely inadequate.’ 

He said: ‘We are already reacting with the British government, presenting a set of arguments we believe are valid, and pointing out that this decision is totally incorrect for Madeira, inadequate and above all, very unfair.’ 

He told local press: ‘The reality of Madeira has been different from the national reality for a long time, with a model adopted here for controlling entry and monitoring citizens throughout their stay in the region. 

‘Furthermore, it is important to bear in mind that Madeira is in a much more advanced state with regard to the vaccination process than mainland Portugal and this is also a factor of confidence, not only for those who live here, but also for those who visit us.

‘The risk of British citizens traveling to Madeira is reduced by the fact that the overwhelming number of passengers come on direct flights.’ 

UK holidaymakers revealed they are planning on cancelling their trips to the country while others said they will not bother going abroad this summer.

One Twitter user said: ‘I’m due to fly to Portugal on Sunday for 7 days, so will be green when I go and amber on return? Will my holiday still go ahead??’

Another tweeted: ’17 days Portugal has been on the green list. How the hell is anyone going to have the confidence to book a foreign holiday? I certainly won’t be whilst this traffic light system is in place.’

One person wrote: ‘@jet2tweets what are our options now with Portugal going amber? Supposed to be going in 3 weeks’. Another said: ‘It looks liuke my summer holiday is gone, so this week in Portugal is a god send’. 

On Twitter user added: ‘Would be funny if I hadn’t flown to Portugal this morning’. 

It comes as travel industry leaders blasted the Government’s ‘crippling’ and ‘confusing’ decision to axe Portugal from its green list of safe destinations amid growing concern over the Nepal coronavirus variant. 

In a statement to MailOnline, package holiday firm TUI UK called the announcement ‘another step back for our industry’ and demanded to see the scientific basis for the decision.

Its managing director, Andrew Flintham, said: ‘After promises that the Global Travel Taskforce would result in a clear framework, removing the damaging flip flopping we all endured last summer, the Government decision to move Portugal straight from green to amber will do untold damage to customer confidence. 

‘We were reassured that a green watch list would be created and a weeks’ notice would be given so travellers wouldn’t have to rush back home. They have failed on this promise.

‘Unlike other European countries and despite multiple requests, the government has refused to be transparent about the data requirements for green, amber and red destinations. 

‘We must see the methodology so we can help our customers and plan our operations accordingly. There are destinations around the world with little or no Covid-19 cases and good vaccination rates, so we need to understand why these remain on the amber list.’

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: ‘This shock decision to add Portugal to the Amber list is a huge blow to those who are currently in Portugal and those who have booked to be reunited with loved ones, or take a well-deserved break this summer. 

‘With Portuguese rates similar to those in the UK it simply isn’t justified by the science.

‘And to add no more countries to the Green list when most of Europe’s infection rates are on a downward trend and many places with low infection rates below that of the UK, such as the Balearics with a current rate of 33 in 100,000 and Malta, with just 12 in 100,000, this makes no sense. 

‘Especially when domestic travel is allowed within the UK, despite a number of cities having infection rates 20 times greater than much of Europe.

‘When this framework was put together, consumers were promised a waiting list to allow them to plan. Yet the Government has torn up its own rule book and ignored the science, throwing peoples’ plans into chaos, with virtually no notice or alternative options for travel from the UK. 

‘This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world.

‘We have demonstrated that a safe reopening of travel is possible as our study with leading epidemiologists from the Yale School of Public Health showed that the criteria which matters most is the impact on hospitalisation rates back in the UK, not the infection rates in destination. 

‘Reopening travel to much of Europe would have a negligible impact on hospitalisation rates in the UK.

‘While our European fleet is gearing up for summer as European governments open up travel for their citizens, the UK government is making it impossible for airlines to plan while consumers are left grounded in UK.’ 

Shares in easyJet, British Airways-owner IAG and Jet2 were down five per cent on fears that Europe would lose another peak travel season, when millions of Britons usually head to southern Europe in July and August.

Ryanair and TUI, which has a big German customer base as well as British, lost four per cent.

Data provided by Cirium showed that Ryanair and easyJet had been scheduled to operate more than 500 flights from the UK to Portugal in June. The airlines had all added flights to the country in May.

The industry is already weakened by 15 months of lockdowns, forcing it to cut tens of thousands of jobs and take on debt, and it will be severely challenged if there is no reopening this summer.

The news is also likely to sound the alarm in France, Spain, Greece and Italy where thousands of jobs rely on the arrival of high-spending British tourists each summer.

Portugal’s foreign ministry said it did not understand the ‘logic’ behind the decision. 

‘We took note of Britain’s decision to remove Portugal from the green list,’ the ministry said on Twitter, adding that it would continue to ease its lockdown rules ‘gradually’. 

No countries are being added to the ‘green list’, dashing hopes that places such as Malta, Jamaica and Grenada could be added to the roster thanks to easing Covid rates.

And more countries are being put on the ‘red list’ that means returning travellers must go into quarantine hotels. They are Egypt, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago and Afghanistan. 

Mr Shapps said there had been a rise in test positivity in Portugal, and also pointed to the danger that the coronavirus variant linked to Nepal could pose a fresh threat to the escape from lockdown.