BRITS have been left fearing for their summer holidays after the UK’s list of air bridge countries has continued to change at short notice.
Not only that, but some of the “safe” countries which don’t require a UK quarantine still have their own travel restrictions in place for British tourists.
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Just a third of the UK air bridges will let Brits in without restrictionsCredit: PA:Press Association
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) published a list of destinations that are exempt from its quarantine on July 3, followed by the ending of the advisory against all non-essential travel on July 10.
The list is subject to change, as was seen over the weekend of July 25/26 when Spain was suddenly struck off, leaving absolute chaos among tourists who were out there or had planned a trip.
Luxembourg was also removed from the safe list, with fears of countries such as Belgium and France following suit.
On July 28, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia and St Vincent and the Grenadines were added to the list.
Analysis by travel consultancy The PC Agency and consumer research agency AudienceNet also found that just 25 locations included on the lists do not have border controls that stop English visitors entering.
Others, such as New Zealand, are either closed to international flights or impossible to enter without quarantine or coronavirus testing, according to the analysis.
Greece, a popular holiday destination for Brits, is included on the list though some quarantines are still in place if you test positive on arrival and you must fill in a Passenger Locator Form before travelling.
Cyprus requires a negative coronavirus test to enter, while other countries such as Australia and Turkey have coronavirus testing or quarantine restrictions as well.
Full list of countries with unrestricted travel
There are around 70 countries on the unrestricted travel list:
Europe
Austria
Andorra
Belgium
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France (overseas territories of France are listed separately, where included in the exemption)
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Malta
Monaco
The Netherlands (not including the constituent countries and special municipalities located in the Dutch Caribbean)
Norway
Poland
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Switzerland
Turkey
Americas
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Canada
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curaçao
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Jamaica
Martinique
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Maarten
St Martin and St Barthélemy
St Pierre and Miquelon
St Vincent and The Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
Asia-Pacific
Australia
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei
Cambodia
Cook Islands
Fiji
French Polynesia
Hong Kong
Japan
Laos
Macao
Malaysia
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Samoa
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
Wallis and Futuna
Africa
Reunion
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Antarctica
British Antarctic Territory
The PC Agency chief executive Paul Charles previously said: “Consumers are confused by the two lists produced by Government, as it’s just not clear which countries are actually accessible without having to quarantine on arrival.
“Our research shows that holidaymakers and business travellers from England can only enter 25 countries, out of 74 on the DfT list, without being quarantined.
“It’s vital that the Government provides clarity to consumers who are booking, and provides just one list that is accurate and up to date in terms of where we can actually access.”
Emma Coulthurst, consumer advocate for price comparison site TravelSupermarket, said: “The Government’s latest information released late on Friday on where UK citizens can holiday this summer has the potential to confuse people and see them unwittingly book holidays which, due to restrictions imposed by the destination country, they might not be able to take.
“There are some countries on the UK Government FCO and DfT lists which are refusing UK citizens entry or imposing strict entry requirements, which either completely prevent holidays or make them extremely difficult or more costly.”
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Greece is one of the countries which still has restrictions on entering, while is on the UK safe list.Credit: Shutterstock
“It is vitally important that holidaymakers check the individual country’s entry requirements before booking and also book cancel-for-free or flexible rebooking options in case they unintentionally book a holiday which entry restrictions then prevent them from taking.
“The UK Government should be making it clearer what the actual situation is for travel from the UK to countries on their lists and providing a lot more clarity on where holidaymakers can actually go to from the UK without restriction.”
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