The Azores and Madeira along with mainland Portugal
have been officially given the green light by the British government for
holiday visits when England lifts its overseas travel ban on May 17.
Only 12
countries worldwide, most of them distant, have been included in the least
restrictive category on the UK’s so-called green, amber and red ‘traffic light
system’.
The
announcement has come as a huge relief to the vital Portuguese tourism sector
that has long been at a standstill because of the COVID-19 international
lockdowns.
Portugal and
the autonomous regions are considered COVID ‘low risk’ and thus among the
safest destinations.
The only
other green list places on relative short flight routes from the UK are Gibraltar,
Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Israel. The rest, including Australia and New
Zealand are in the far south.
Spain,
Italy, France and the United States, all hugely popular destinations, are among
the many countries left off the green list. They are considered higher risk and
rated amber.
As Portugal
is the first Mediterranean destination to make it on to the green list, the
number of flight and accommodation bookings immediately began to surge.
For now, the
new arrangement only applies to England. The arrangement will be reviewed every
three weeks. Decisions on overseas travel from other parts of the United
Kingdom are expected soon
Travellers
to green list countries will have to take two COVID tests, before leaving and
one within two days of returning, but if the tests prove negative, travellers will
not have to quarantine. Those returning from amber list countries will have to
self-isolate.
On the
downside of all this, airlines and travel agencies say the traffic light system
is over-cautious and more countries should be on the green list. It has also been pointed out that holidaying
prices could considerably increase and passengers are likely to face delays at
airports because of extra COVID paperwork checking.
UK transport minister Grant Shapps said on
Friday: “Today marks our first step in our cautious return to international
travel, with measures designed above all else to protect public health and
ensure we don’t throw away the hard fought gains we’ve all strived to earn this
year.”