Holidays abroad: UK adds Malta and the Balearic Islands to travel green list

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Britons have today been given a major boost to their hopes of a foreign getaway this summer, with 16 locations – including several top holiday hotspots – being added to the UK’s travel green list.

The hugely popular Balearic islands – Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca – along with Madeira, Grenada, Barbados, and Bermuda have all been downgraded from amber to green, Grant Shapps revealed tonight. 

It means, from June 30, holidaymakers will be able to return from these countries without being forced into quarantine for 10 days when arriving back in the UK. 

And, in a further boost to wishful British holidaymakers, the Transport Secretary announced the Government will allow double-jabbed Britons to holiday in amber list countries later this summer without having to quarantine on their return. 

The welcome announcement came after both Scotland and Northern Ireland jumped the gun and revealed the green list additions before Mr Shapps.

Almost an hour after the Northern Ireland Assembly had revealed the updated green list, the Transport Secretary said in a Twitter post: ‘We’re adding Malta to the Government green list.

‘We’re also adding Madeira, the Balearic Islands, several UK Overseas Territories and Caribbean Islands (including Barbados) to the green list and green watchlist.  Israel and Jerusalem are also added to the green watchlist.’

Announcing the Government’s plan to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated Britons returning from amber list countries, he said: ‘Thanks to our successful vaccination programme, our intention is that later in the summer UK residents who are fully vaccinated will not have to isolate when travelling from amber list countries.’

Mr Shapps said more details about the double-vaccination ambe list scheme will be set out next month. 

Meanwhile, six countries including Tunisia and Haiti will be put on the UK’s travel red list. This means only UK citizens and those with residency status can travel from these countries and must stay in Government approved quarantine hotels for at least 10 days on their arrival. 

Israel and Jerusalem, which has been on the UK’s travel green list since the Government first announced the scheme, will be added to the green watch list. The green watch list signals that a country might be moved to the amber list in the near future. 

The travel list changes are all due to come into place from next Wednesday, at 4am.

Both Northern Ireland and Scotland had earlier jumped the gun on the announcement, revealing the 16 countries they were set to allow on their travel green lists.  

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson said: ‘From the outset we have said caution is required regarding international travel and people should think very carefully about travelling abroad as situations can suddenly change.

‘We continue to work closely with the other home nations and are cautiously supportive of exploring options for the easing of restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from countries on the amber list – but only if the clinical advice supports it and if systems are in place to ensure the wider safety of the Scottish population.’ 

Travel chiefs today welcomed the move, with Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye describing it as ‘very positive news’. He said: We are a cosmopolitan country, a small island with strong links to the rest of the world. Exporters want to get out and sell their goods to the world, families want to reconnect after a year of separation. We will work with the government to make this happen as soon as possible and let Britain fly.’

Virgin Atlantic boss Shai Weiss describing the decision to allow Antigua, Barbados and Grenada as a ‘constructive step’ to allow ‘much needed holidays’. 

However he also criticised the decision to leave the US on the UK’s amber list, saying: ‘Today’s announcement fails to go far enough.  The Government’s own evidence shows that the US is low risk and should be added to the Green list now.  Whilst the transatlantic corridor is closed, £23million in economic value each day is restricted.

‘We urge the UK Government to move the US to the UK’s ‘Green list’ and for the Biden administration to repeal the 212F proclamation for UK travellers.’

Sean Doyle, chief executive officer of British Airways said also urged the Government to move faster, saying: ‘We cannot afford another missed summer.  There are jobs at stake, Britons separated from family members and we cannot afford to allow the success of our vaccine programme to be wasted.’ 

Chief executive of trade group ABTA, Mark Tanzer, said that while the green list additions were ‘welcome’, that today’s announcement did ‘not on its own deliver a meaningful restart of international travel’.

Meanwhile, politicians in Spain praised today’s travel announcement, describing it as ‘excellent news’.

It comes as, on another tense day of coronavirus developments: 

• Covid-19 case rates in all regions of England are continuing to increase, according to the latest PHE surveillance report, with North-west England spiking to 238.9 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to June 20 compared to 200.3 the previous week; 
• Boris Johnson is struggling to contain an apparent Cabinet split today as ministers openly said they will ditch face masks the moment they are not compulsory – and suggested that should happen on July 19; 
• Inflation is expected to rise above 3 per cent ‘for a temporary period’ this year as Britain’s economic recovery continues at pace, the Bank of England said today; 
•  The first lockdown in March 2020 led to a drop in fertility rates and not the baby boom previously predicted, official figures have shown. 

ABTA chief, Mr Tanzer, said: ‘If the Government is going to continue to place such tight constraints on the industry’s ability to trade, we need them to commit to a package of tailored financial support for the sector, which recognises that the travel industry’s recovery will be slower than that in other sectors of the economy. 

‘Travel companies are facing increased furlough and business rates costs next week and – with travel to the most popular holiday destinations still largely restricted – they will simply not have the money to do so.’

On the amber list double jab announcement, he added: ‘We’re glad to hear that the Government intends to remove quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers travelling to amber countries, and this needs to be introduced as quickly as possible.’

There was more optimism from British package holiday firm, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, who announced they were putting 70 additional flights to Malta and Madeira in anticipation for a huge spike in demand.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: ‘We have been urging the UK Government to stay true to their word and follow the scientific evidence when it comes to making decisions about international travel, so today’s announcement is an overdue but welcome step in the right direction. 

‘We believe other destinations should still be added to the Green List, however what this demonstrates is that the Government is firmly committed to reopening international travel and we commend that approach.

‘This is fantastic news for our customers who want nothing more than to get away for a much-needed holiday.

‘Now that we have some clarity about where we can fly to, our focus is on getting everything ready for the restart of our international flights and holidays from July 1.’

Meanwhile, Alfonso Rodriguez Badal, mayor of the municipality of Calvia which includes the popular British holiday resorts of Magaluf, neighbouring Palmanova and Santa Ponsa, described the UK’s decision to put the Balearic Islands on its green list as ‘excellent news for Calvia and the entire region.’ 

He said: ‘For a municipality like Calvia with places like Magaluf and Santa Ponsa which were experiencing a huge drop in the number of people visiting because of the lack of British tourism, this news means the reactivation of their main tourist market. 

‘More than 40 per cent of the hotel beds in areas like Magaluf and Palmanova for instance are taken up traditionally by British tourists.

 ‘Therefore the news is excellent and it validates the excellent work we’ve done as a society and a community to contain the virus and achieve very low accumulated rates of coronavirus. ‘

It comes as France and Germany launched a joint push to make Britons quarantine on arrival in the EU today despite Boris Johnson hailing the ‘real opportunity’ of opening travel to double-jabbed holidaymakers. 

The bid is to tighten the bloc’s defences against the Indian – or Delta – variant, with countries alarmed at the spike in infections caused by the mutation. 

Angela Merkel urged all EU states to follow Germany’s lead by requiring travellers from the UK to quarantine.

However, Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya confirmed tonight that the country would snub Angela Merkel by continuing to let British tourists into the country without forcing them to quarantine.  

She said at a press conference with her Panamanian counterpart Erika Mouynes after their meeting in Madrid: ‘At the moment we are maintaining the measures which enable British citizens to enter our territory.’ 

Spain’s defiant stance comes after the German president today said in summit at Brussels: ‘I will lobby for a more co-ordinated approach, particularly with regard to entries from regions where virus variants abound.’

French president Emmanuel Macron echoed her hard line, saying: ‘We must all be vigilant because the much-talked-about Delta variant is coming, which spreads much more rapidly than the other variants and affects people who are not vaccinated or who only have had one dose. 

‘For me, one of the issues of discussion is to be really taking co-ordinated decisions in terms of opening of borders to third countries and on recognising vaccines because at this stage we have to limit this to the vaccines that have been approved by the European medical authority.’

Environment Secretary George Eustice condemned the Franco-German stance. ‘I’m not sure that such an approach would be justified given the highly advanced stage we are currently at now in terms of vaccination, with 80 per cent having had one jab and now 60 per cent having had the second jab,’ he told LBC radio.

‘I don’t think such a move would be justified but obviously it’s for individual countries to make these judgments.’

Spain indicated it will fight any Franco-German attempt to get the rest of Europe to introduce quarantine for British holidaymakers. 

Meanwhile, on a visit to Aldershot, Mr Johnson dodged directly criticising Mrs Merkel’s comments.   

He said: ‘Let’s see where we get to with all this. I think that the real opportunity we all have now is to open up travel through the double jab.

‘We’ve got more than 60 per cent of our population have now had two jabs, 83 per cent have had one jab, we’re really getting through it now.

‘I’m not going to claim that this summer, for travel purposes, is going to be like any other summer. I don’t want to cast a pall over things but, as I said the other day, it will be different.’ 

Portuguese PM Antonio Costa admitted earlier today his country would bow down to whatever EU leaders decided ahead of a European Council meeting.

Asked by a Portuguese journalist if Lisbon would consider making Brits quarantine, he replied: ‘If that was the wish of the Council, yes. 

‘The United Kingdom shouldn’t have any different treatment.’ 

But Spain’s Tourism Minister Maria Reyes Maroto appeared to put her country on a collision course with the likes of Merkel and Macron by insisting before the UK’s new traffic light announcement: ‘Hopefully we can begin to receive British tourists soon.’

Speaking today at an event organised by leading Spanish newspaper El Pais, she said: ‘We don’t have any restrictions on tourists from the UK at the moment. 

‘They’re the ones who are placing restrictions on people when they return.’ 

It comes as France and Germany were today accused of hypocrisy over the plans to keep British holidaymakers out of Europe, despite the Indian variant already being on the rise in both nations.

The bid to tighten the bloc’s defences comes amid fears about the ultra-infectious Indian ‘Delta’ variant which has taken off far quicker in Britain than the rest of the continent.

But data shows prevalence of the mutant strain is growing exponentially in Germany and is accounting for up to 70 per cent of new cases in some regions in the South West of France.

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline the Franco-German stance was ‘an attempt to close the stable door after the horse has bolted’. He said previous waves had shown overly-strict border controls between European countries cannot keep out new variants because they are so closely tied in trade, business and travel.

Nationally, the Indian variant only makes up 15 per cent of infections in Germany currently and cases are still trending downwards. But official data shows the proportion of infections made up of the Delta strain have doubled every seven days for the past three weeks.

French Government figures show 10 per cent of all new Covid cases are the virulent variant, but seven in 10 of new cases in the southwestern region of Landes, on the Atlantic coast. Landes is recording more than 50 Covid cases per 100,000 population in total which is double the national rate. It is also the only area in France where infection rates are climbing.

The situation in Landes has echoes of how the Indian variant was first seeded in the North West of England and spread around Britain from April.

Currently, those travelling from Britain to Greece, Spain and Portugal are not required to quarantine. Spain is letting Britons in without having to produce a PCR test.

The UK’s hugely successful vaccination programme – which has seen more than 80 per cent of adults jabbed and 60 per cent fully vaccinated – means the majority of the population are protected from the Indian variant and less likely to spread it.  

It comes as scientists had earlier signed off on declaring the Balearics safe enough for the green list, though there were fears that the Government could overrule the experts and keep them on the amber list.

More than five million Brits visit Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca in a normal year. 

And earlier, Tory MP Henry Smith, chairman of the Future of Aviation Group, said some of the countries should have already been on the green list. 

He said: ‘Frankly, these destinations should already be on the green list along with many others.

‘It is a nonsense that people are not able to travel freely to countries that have lower rates of infection than we do.’  

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: ‘It’s now or never if we are to have any sort of summer season and the data shows this can be done safely and proportionately with many more countries being added to the list.

‘The future of our aviation industry and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports depends on it.’ 

Culture minister John Whittingdale hinted at positive news yesterday, saying: ‘Hopefully it will be possible to increase that number’ of countries on the green list. 

Green list status is only allocated to destinations that can show they have low Covid rates and no significant problems with variants of concern. 

They also have to show that they can monitor for new variants.

Government scientists advised last month that Malta could be added to the green list, only to be overruled by ministers led by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Latest figures suggest infection rates on the island are less than half those in the UK. 

Meanwhile, Berlin has banned travellers from Britain entering unless they are a German citizen, have residency rights or if there is an ‘urgent humanitarian reason’ like a family death. 

But those allowed in still have to register to get permission to visit and quarantine for two weeks with no option for early release after a negative test.

It comes after Italy reintroduced quarantine and testing requirements for all UK arrivals amid growing concerns in Europe about the spread of the Indian, or Delta, variant, now dominant in the UK.

Health minister Roberto Speranza said on Friday that Italy will require all travellers from Britain to quarantine for five days upon arrival.

A negative test is required at the end of the five-day period. America currently still bans UK tourists amid the surge in Delta cases. 

Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s top infectious diseases expert, last week suggested that UK-US travel would only reopen in September as a result. 

Portugal, Spain and Greece are still allowing UK holidaymakers to visit with proof of a negative test and no quarantine. 

France is also allowing in fully vaccinated Britons with a negative test.

But European health officials say further action is needed to curb the spread of the Delta variant as it gains a hold on the Continent. 

This month it accounted for 70 per cent of sequenced cases in the greater Lisbon region of Portugal, more than 20 per cent in Italy and about 16 per cent in Belgium.  It has also been detected in clusters in Germany, France and Spain.