Transport secretary Grant Shapps on Friday (17 September) confirmed eight countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, the Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey – would be reclassified this week, with the FCDO swiftly removing the Covid-specific element of its travel advice for Turkey, Kenya and Oman.
However, the remaining five have effectively been placed off limits to travellers with an FCDO advisory against all but essential travel typically serving as the trigger that invalidates most travel insurance policies, despite no longer being red.
All eight have been moved temporarily onto the UK’s amber list, with the amber category itself set to be scrapped entirely from 4 October in a broader simplification of the traffic light regime. From 4 October, there will be just two categories – rest of the world and red.
Friday’s confirmation that Egypt and the Maldives would be removed from the red list came as a boost for the travel sector, with both destinations offering opportunities for holidaymakers deprived of their overseas summer holidays for the second year in a row to catch some late-summer sun and book ahead for winter getaways.
TTG has approached the FCDO for comment.
The latest disparity was not lost on the trade on Wednesday morning. Haslemere Travel owner Gemma Antrobus tweeted: "So…. #Maldives was removed from the red list this morning at 4am BUT the @FCDOGovUK still advises against all but essential travel. Anyone know when this will be brought in line?"
Which? travel editor Rory Boland said: "I see we’re back in the silly situation where the Department of Transport now says the Maldives is safe to travel to but the FCDO still advise against all non essential travel based on ‘current COVID-19 risks’. Travel insurance is invalid with an FCDO warning. Holidays impossible. Government has had confusion caused by the separate lists explained to them many, many times."
Responding to Boland, Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said said: "It’s just ridiculous. If Covid is a ‘risk’ then surely government departments should be aligned on this. I see simplicity lasted long... They just never seem to move on from confusing everyone. In the meantime leaving industry and consumers to fire-fight the confusion."
