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UK split over Portugal and Greece quarantine rules
Holidaymakers and travel professionals across the UK have reacted with confusion and anger after Britain was split over quarantine measures.
Wales and Scotland added Portugal to their quarantines lists but England and Northern Ireland did not.
Along with Portugal, Wales has removed Gibraltar, French Polynesia and the Greek islands of Mykonos, Zakynthos, Lesvos, Paros and Antiparos and Crete from the list of exempt destinations.
Anyone returning to Wales from those countries after 4am on Friday (4 September) must self-isolate for 14 days. The Azores and Madeira remain exempt from Wales’s quarantine list.
Scotland had already reintroduced self-isolation measures for arrivals from Greece and has now added Portugal and French Polynesia to its quarantine list. The Scottish changes will not be implemented until 4am on Saturday (5 September).
Changes to the rules for arrivals from Greece coming to England have been considered - but Greece will stay on its safe list for now.
During his now regular Thursday afternoon update on quarantine, transport secretary Grant Shapps tweeted: “We continue to keep the Travel Corridor list under constant review & won’t hesitate to remove countries if needed. However, there are no English additions or removals today.
“Nonetheless, holidaymakers are reminded - 14-day quarantine countries can & do change at very short notice.”
His announcement was met with frustration from the trade at yet more uncertainty for travel businesses and their clients.
We continue to keep the Travel Corridor list under constant review & won't hesitate to remove countries if needed. However, there are no English additions or removals today.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) September 3, 2020
Nonetheless, holidaymakers are reminded - 14-day quarantine countries can & do change at very short notice
Julie Croucher, owner of travel agency Travel with Jules, replied saying: “Get real @grantshapps all of your quarantine decisions are completely unfounded, and you are not enforcing them.
“Time to listen to the travel industry get rid of all quarantine (which was 5 months too late) & let us get on with our lives! #Savetravel.”
Carrier managing director Mark Duguid urged: “Rather than a breezy tweet, how about, I don’t know, maybe creating a framework which provides stability for travellers and industry? #SaveTravel.”
Malvern World Travel’s Lee Harrison said Shapps’ announcement had “done nothing to ease [the] pain my [of] customers [who] booked before Covid”.
“[They] did not take a refund when they could have, moved dates [and] were due to travel to Madeira on bank holiday Monday and decided to loose £1,800 as couldn’t afford risk of quarantine #SaveTravel.”
