Dubai and Turkey stay on red list

Holiday favourites remain off limits

The Sultan Ahmet or Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey (Getty Images)

Tourism hotspots Dubai and Turkey have both remained on the government’s red list after it announced the first review of the traffic light system for travel.

Having assessed the most recent data, the Department for Transport (DfT) revealed its updated green, amber and red lists which govern the severity of restrictions for inbound travellers arriving in the UK.

Countries on the red list come with the toughest measures – arrivals to the UK must pre-book an 11-night package at a designated quarantine hotel, at a cost of £1,750 per solo traveller.

The price includes a private transfer from the airport, all meals, and two Covid PCR tests to be taken on days two and eight of quarantine.

At present, only those with the right to reside in Britain will be permitted entry from red list countries.

While it was hoped that some destinations might move from red to amber in the latest reshuffle, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both beloved by British travellers, remain stuck on red.

The previous red list of 43 destinations has now grown even further to 50 countries, with Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Trinidad & Tobago all adding to its ranks.

While most places end up on the red list due to spiralling Covid infection rates and/or a high prevalence of virus variants of concern, some destinations, such as the UAE, are classified as red purely because they are international aviation hubs.

With thousands of travellers passing through the UAE daily on connecting flights, the UK government has argued it would be nigh on impossible to determine whether arrivals had originated from a red list country.

Following the UK government’s latest announcement, UAE Ambassador to the UK, Mansoor Abulhoul, said: “It is disappointing to see that the UAE has remained on the UK’s red travel list.

“We have best-in-class health and safety infrastructure to protect visitors and residents. This includes rapid testing, social distancing and sanitisation procedures at our airports, as well as Emirates and Etihad airlines fully sanitising all planes. Additionally, the UAE is among the top countries in the world for both vaccination rate and its testing programme.

“We have strict controls to guard against troubling variants and have bespoke travel arrangements with several countries for vaccinated passengers, including Greece and Italy, and we look forward to negotiating similar solutions with other countries.

“Our aim is to allow families and friends separated by COVID-19 to reunite as soon as possible and to resume our crucial business and leisure travel links.”

Meanwhile, no new countries were added to the select green list from where returning travellers need not quarantine upon arrival into the UK.

Green list travellers must simply take one PCR test within two days of arrival.

The already slender list was made even smaller, with the news that Portugal - the only mainstream holiday destination accessible to Brits - will move to amber from Tuesday 8 June.

While leisure travel to amber and red countries is now legally permitted, the government strongly advises against holidaying anywhere not on the green list.