Thread by @AlexInAir

TODAY: UK government will reveal green/amber/red ✈️🚦list for all international travel to UK, from 17 May. A thread 👇🏽

🟩 Green: test before/after travel to UK, no quarantine
🟨 Amber: tests before/after, home quarantine
🟥 Red: ban on visitors, £1750 hotel quarantine for Brits

• Remember: UK’s upcoming green/amber/red list ✈️🚦does *NOT* determine where Brits can travel to.

Instead, it determines what measures/testing/quarantine passengers face (including Brits, tourists, business travellers, etc) will face when they travel FROM abroad TO the UK.

• Many places the UK will today categorise as ‘green’ or ‘amber’ continue to ban UK travellers...

- Spain travel restrictions on UK leisure travel is until May 31, at earliest ⛔️

- US has an ongoing travel ban on UK travellers ⛔️

- Australia & New Zealand are closed ⛔️

• Proof of Vaccination for UK travellers?

Greece has indicated they’ll accept the NHS card as proof of FULL vaccination (not just the ‘one dose’) but Portugal has said it won’t as it’s too easy to forge.

EU-wide digital vaccine passport will be ready over the ‘coming weeks’ 📱

• UK government say nations that are transit hubs – such as UAE, Qatar, etc – will remain on “red list” (meaning travel ban) “indefinitely” — despite high vaccination rates.

“The specific issue is one of transit. It’s because they are major transit hubs.” said Transport Sec

• UK govt has reassured the aviation and travel industry that the ‘traffic light’ 🚦policy is to provide certainty

What is inevitable: countries WILL move across from green to amber, or amber to red. Travellers should be aware of this risk, book travel on flexible terms, etc ✈️

• What’s also inevitable: travellers will misunderstand ‘green list’ as countries they can GO to — when actually they are countries you can *TRAVEL FROM* to England with no quarantine

Example: If Australia 🇦🇺 is Green 🟩...UK visitors still *cannot go* due to 🇦🇺‘s closed border