The UK border is already under strain just a day after international travel resumed, with chaotic scenes reported this morning at Heathrow Airport.
Travellers were forced to queue for more than three hours to get through border control as the airport recorded its busiest day of the year, some claiming they had to stand next to arrivals from red-listed countries.
One tweeted this morning after landing in London from the US at 6am: “Asked to go and sit somewhere while one parent queues up we’ve been directed to sit with a family who have just arrived from a Red List country.”
The man also claimed that only 10 of the 35 Border Force desks was open. One arrival told MailOnline they were ’terrified of catching Covid’, while another stated: “While queueing there was no social distancing. We had a plane from India arrive straight after ours and we queued for over three hours.”
It comes as thousands of British holidaymakers flouted Government advice yesterday and boarded flights to red and amber list destinations despite Matt Hancock warning: ”People should not – and certainly not for holiday purposes.”
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Vaccinated New Yorker bemused by UK testing requirements
American Journalist Steve Myall landed amid crowded scenes at Heathrow this morning, where he was directed to wait with a family of red list arrivals.
Tweeting about the experience, he also remarked that despite being fully inoculated he was baffled by ‘the logic’ of the UK’s testing system…
Report: How you’ll need to prove you’re safe to return to UK
The Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner is heading back to London from Lisbon after flying out yesterday with the first Britons to travel to a green list country.
He writes: “Before any of the tourists in Portugal can return home, they must take a Covid test to show they are negative.
“In my case I had booked a video test, meaning I took a test kit out with me and tested myself under observation by a medical professional, dialling in on a video call.
“The very patient Alex, from testing firm Qured, talked me through the process over a dodgy WiFi connection and, crucially, watched me do the test to confirm all was present and correct.
“Once the requisite 15 minutes had elapsed, I sent a photo of the lateral flow device to Qured, who emailed me the certificate I will need to be allowed home.
“The cost of a Qured supervised test is £33. You can also arrange to have someone local turn up in person to do your test, but the virtual medic system worked brilliantly well.”
Credit:
Geoff Pugh
Holidays to Europe with Covid vaccine passports get green light
British holidaymakers are on Wednesday set to be given the green light by the EU to use “vaccine passports” to enter Europe.
EU ambassadors are expected to sign off a plan allowing fully-vaccinated Britons to fly to Europe without having to have a Covid test or quarantine.
It came as the bosses of BA and Heathrow issued a joint plea to the Government to publish an advance list of its “green” countries for the summer to enable families to plan holidays.
What happened?
A quick recap of the top stories:
- The #GreatUnlock sees foreign holidays resume in green-list destinations
- Hotels in England reopen for business
- Brits board the first flight to Portugal as travel restrictions ease
- Museums and art galleries reopen in England
- Travel firms plead for bigger green list as holidaymakers head for the sun
- Matt Hancock: ‘People should not travel to amber list countries for a holiday’
- The Balearic Islands launches a significant push to get onto the UK’s green list