The UK Government have announced that a new traffic light system that will categorise countries based on their Covid-19 risk levels is part of potential plans to safely restart foreign holidays. This has been recommended by the government's Global Travel Taskforce, which suggests international travel could resume from May 17th at the earliest, in an "accessible and affordable way".
It may be a few weeks before we know the exact date when trips abroad can take place, and which countries will be subject to the most relaxed measures. But the transport secretary has now said families can "start to think about" booking foreign holidays, instead of insisting Britons travel within the UK.
What the government is still looking into:
- Ministers have said they will work with the travel industry and private test providers to "drive down costs" of foreign travel "while ensuring is is as safe as possible".
- This could include eliminating the need for more expensive PCR tests for when passengers return home and replacing with them rapid, Lateral Flow ones (LFTs), which the government could provide for free.
- Passengers could also be given free packs of rapid tests, like the ones currently being offered by some pharmacies, local authorities and by post, before they leave the country to do on their return.
- A digital travel certification system is still being looked at and the Department for Transport is considering how COVID passports could help outbound travel for countries that are using them.
- "Work also continues to develop a system that could facilitate travel certification for inbound international travel," the report added
