EU eases travel restrictions for vaccinated tourists but excludes the UK

Chris Evans discuses international travel after restrictions are lifted

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A new modified proposal has been approved today to allow EU residents to travel freely without the need for tests or quarantines if they have been vaccinated for 14 days or more.

The European Commission is committed to a restart of international travel from July 1.

However, restrictions on non-EU travellers will depend on the level of Covid cases in each country.

Currently, the UK is excluded from the plans due to concerns over the Indian variant.

On July 1, the EU vaccine passport will also be released.

The digital certificate will show if a person has had the vaccine, test results, or if they have immunity from a previous infection.

The certificate will exempt EU citizens from any travel restrictions.

In the UK, a vaccine passport is being discussed, although vaccination records can be viewed through the NHS app.

Mutual recognition by the EU of the UK NHS vaccination certificate is expected.

That means Britons can use the NHS app as proof they have had the jab when travelling to a country that allows fully vaccinated visitors.

Despite the new EU regulations, individual countries can still impose their own rules.

At the moment, some countries are allowing fully vaccinated Britons to enter.

UK travellers can go on holiday to Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, France, Iceland, Israel or Poland if they have had the vaccine 14 days or more prior to arrival.

However, most of these destinations are on the UK’s amber list meaning that when travelling to those countries, a 10 day quarantine is mandatory upon return.

Although the Government is not set to review the current travel rules until June 23, airlines are urging the Prime Minister to ease restrictions at least, for vaccinated travellers.

In a joint statement, alliances SkyTeam, Oneworld and Star Alliance said: “Vaccination will have a key role in the restart of international air travel and tourism.

“We strongly advocate for governments to accept accredited vaccination as a safe and appropriate reason to avoid quarantines.”

CEO of Virgin Atlantic Shai Weiss said: “Vaccinated travellers to and from the UK should be free from testing and quarantine.

Also in a joined call, UK airline bosses urged the Government “to consider lifting” entry requirements for UK travellers who are fully vaccinated or who provide a negative Covid test.

“We urgently need them to look to the science and base their judgements on a proper risk analysis, allowing us to benefit from the protection offered by our successful vaccine rollouts.

“In the UK this means making the traffic light system fit for purpose, including a pathway to restriction-free travel for vaccinated travellers, and getting rid of complexity surrounding ‘amber list’ countries,” said British Airways CEO, Sean Doyle.

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