- What to do about your holiday to the Balearics
- The countries on England’s red list
- The amber list countries
- What to know before quarantining after a holiday
- Sign up to the Telegraph Travel newsletter
President Biden has signalled the possible restart of international travel to the US.
In a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, he revealed that the US is reviewing when it can lift restrictions on European travellers.
He described discussions on the timeline of lifting the travel ban as “in process now” and said that he would be able to reveal more information “within the next several days.”
Already, fully vaccinated US citizens are allowed to travel overseas, provided they show evidence of a negative Covid test on return.
Mr Biden’s hopeful comments follow repeated calls for transatlantic travel to open up.
Corneel Koster, Virgin Atlantic’s chief customer and operating officer, yesterday told Telegraph Travel: “Vaccination levels are very high in the UK, and very high in the US – if we follow the data the US should open. So should big parts of Europe, and so should other parts of the world. Step by step. Aviation can be rebuilt safely.”
He added: “We are calling on the Biden administration as well to allow Brits to travel there. We are calling on all vaccinated travellers on low risk routes to low risk countries, because the protection is there.”
Scroll down for the latest travel updates.
The red list countries that could still move to amber for August
No red-listed countries were promoted to the amber list this week, despite a handful that were expected to; Turkey being the frontrunner.
So what’s the current data on favourites including Dubai, South Africa and the Maldives ahead of the next review?
Canada could welcome back travellers by September
Canada may permit fully vaccinated travellers into the country by early September if the current trend in vaccination rate and public health conditions continue.
Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister, said there were ongoing discussions with the United States to begin allowing fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents into Canada for non-essential travel by mid-August.
About 78 per cent of people aged 12 years or older in Canada have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.
France could be put on travel red list as beta variant fears grow
Ministers are considering adding France to the travel red list, The Telegraph has learnt, with officials ordered to conduct a “deep dive” into data concerning the spread of the South African/beta variant.
Senior Whitehall sources said the proposal was discussed at a meeting on Wednesday as part of the review of international travel, which saw the Balearic Islands demoted to the amber list only a fortnight after turning green.
Insiders with knowledge of the discussions said the recommendation to move France from amber to red, requiring all arrivals to undergo hotel quarantine for 10 days, was based on an analysis by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC).
Officials are said to be alarmed about the prevalence of the beta, or South African, variant in the country, which is said to be significantly higher than levels globally.
What happened yesterday?
A quick recap of the key developments:
- Mauritius, Qatar and three Thai islands open borders to vaccinated visitors
- Greece sees surge of international arrivals in June
- Portugal extends Covid-19 curbs as cases surge
- Heathrow says masks must be worn in airport beyond Freedom Day
- WHO panel advises against COVID-19 vaccination proof for travel
Now, on with today’s travel news.