Secretary of Transportation Grant Shapps sought “patience” from British vacationers who wanted to go to destinations on the government’s “amber list” on Thursday.
After Prime Minister Boris Johnson emphasized on Wednesday that people should not go to countries on the amber list, except in extreme circumstances.
“The amber and red lists aren’t for vacationers. That’s not the purpose of those lists at this time,” Shaps told BBC Radio 4 Thursday, many to launch the government’s new rail reform plan. I talked to the broadcaster.
“Among those who are moving forward in record numbers to get the vaccine after being blocked for a year in this country, we are in a position to risk our unlocking at this stage. I don’t want to, “he said.
“We’re asking people to be a little patient,” Shaps said, as other countries are catching up with vaccination programs.
Under the British government Signal system For overseas travel, those returning from a “Red List” country must pay for a 10-day quarantine at a controlled hotel and two CCPs (Chinese Communist Party). Virus testing; arrival of the “Amber List” requires payment of the test fee and self-quarantine for 10 days, while arrival of the “Green List” requires two tests, one before the trip and two days after arrival. You need to receive it.
“There’s so much you have to do, and obviously most people won’t want to do it all,” Chaps told the BBC.
When asked why there are still direct flights from Red List countries such as India, Chaps told Sky News:
The only people on the plane are British, Irish or permanent residents, “it’s illegal to come here as a vacationer from a Red List country,” Shaps said, sending people from direct flights to quarantine hotels. He added that it was easy. ..
If there were no direct flights, he said, “many other flights will be scattered and forced quarantine of the hotel will be difficult.”
EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren confirmed on Thursday that people had booked a flight to an amber country for leisure.
“Many people make getting over this pandemic a vacation a top priority,” says Lundgren. “That’s what people are doing.”
Asked why holidays are being sold in countries on the amber list, Shaps moves from a system where things are “banned and illegal” to a situation where people are expected to “apply a little common sense.” I told Sky News that I did.
He urged travel agencies to help people rebook their vacations.
“There is no free and open trip to a country on the amber list,” Chaps told Times Radio, so “there are no travel agencies in the right place to stick to it and refuse to rebook. recommend to”.
“I just appeal to the holiday company, especially through the Atoll system, to protect package holidays and make them as flexible and useful as possible,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“It’s a frustrating situation for us all to frankly sit here and wait for what the virus will do next.”
He admitted that the CCP virus “has made life impossible not only for vacationers but also for travel agencies” “no doubt”.
However, Lundgren argued that Britain was “lagging behind” other European countries when it came to resuming travel.
“Looking at the available data, scientific evidence suggests that there are many countries in Europe that are currently on the amber list to be on the green list,” said Lundgren. “As we are talking, you can see that it is happening in Europe. Europe travel is open in [a] Large scale. This is not whether the UK is at risk of lagging behind. As we are talking, it is late. “
During the meeting, the EU ambassador on Wednesday recommended that rules should be changed to allow fully vaccinated people to enter the EU for non-essential visits.
“We ask the government to look at this data again and make sure they follow the rules and conditions they set,” Lundgren said.
Chaps told BBC Radio 4 that the government reviews the list every three weeks, with the next review taking place in the first week of June.
PA contributed to this report.