Foreign Office travel advice branded 'an assault course of regulations and red tape’

Even before lockdown in England, the vast majority of holiday destinations were off limits for travellers from all four nations

Danger zone: the beach at Albufeira in Portugal (Simon Calder)

As England goes into a second lockdown, the Foreign Office has amended its travel advice to reflect the rapid fragmentation of coronavirus restrictions in the four UK nations.

The FCDO has changed its warnings to every destination. They now advise travellers to read the regulations applied by the UK nation in which they live, before contemplating future travel.

The aim is to make it clear that UK citizens must comply with the appropriate restrictions depending on where they live and their intended destination.

The travel advice for each country begins with the warning: “From 5 November to 2 December 2020, travelling away from home, including internationally, is restricted from England except in limited circumstances such as for work or for education.

“Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You must follow all the rules that apply to you.”

From today, residents of England are banned from travelling anywhere abroad for leisure, yet Scottish holidaymakers who are in the lower tiers – 0, 1 or 2 – are permitted to go from their homes to Manchester airport and fly to Greece with no significant formalities at the UK end.

Even before the lockdown in England, the no-travel order in Northern Ireland and the Welsh “firebreak lockdown,” the vast majority of holiday destinations were off limits for travellers from all four nations.

Since 17 March, the Foreign Office has rated most overseas countries as “unacceptably high risk”. Some popular destinations were taken off the UK government’s “no-go” list in the summer, but most have now been deemed off-limits because of “the current assessment of Covid-19 risks”.

A Foreign Office warning against travel invalidates standard holiday insurance policies.

For Spain, the leading overseas nation for British holidaymakers, the home page tells prospective travellers to check the rules that apply where they live, then warns: “Travel disruption is possible worldwide.

“Other countries may bring in new measures with little notice such as border closures, movement restrictions or quarantine rules. Travellers should be prepared to stay overseas longer than planned.”

It then warns: “The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Spain, including the Balearic Islands but excluding the Canary Islands.”

The no-go warning was lifted from the Canaries late last month and triggered a surge of bookings for holidays in November – many of which were then cancelled as a result of the English lockdown.

But the Foreign Office also warns: “From 14 November, travellers to the Canary Islands will need to provide a negative Covid-19 test when checking-in to regulated tourist accommodation.”

The requirement to self-isolate on return to the UK from everywhere in Spain apart from the Canary Islands continues.

The changes to Foreign Office advice were welcomed by Abta, the travel association.

Susan Deer, its director of industry relations, wrote in the trade journal TTG: "For some time now, we have been calling on the government to lift the global advisory against non-essential travel and move back to country-specific FCDO advice, so it is good to see the government has now acted on this.

"It is important the FCDO advice is used to inform travellers of the risk in destination, with advice against travel used only where that risk is unacceptably high.

“After the lockdown is lifted, this approach will provide a better framework for travel, alongside regionalised travel advice and testing, to help improve customer confidence.”

But some travel industry figures whose businesses have been effectively closed down by the latest lockdown reacted angrily to what they see as adding yet more complexity and damage confidence among prospective holidaymaker.

"Customers wishing to travel now face a Krypton Factor-style assault course of regulations and red tape,” said one chief executive.

The Foreign Office blanket warning against travel to the entire continent of Africa and to many other locations with lower infection rates than the UK has been widely criticised.

The wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein, who owns the Kicheche Safari Camp in Kenya, said: “In the past I believe honest civil servants and diplomats genuinely tried to do the right thing. 

"Not any more. This is a pantomime of red tape, a circus of ridiculous laws. The sooner the Foreign Office advisories are based on facts, the better.”

When Portugal was placed on the no-go list in September, Derek Jones, Kuoni UK's managing director, tweeted: “I cannot stress this enough. Using FO advice to manage Covid is like using a cannon to kill a fly.

”It undermines the essential role that the Foreign Office plays in ensuring the safety and well-being of travellers.”

The FCDO says that it uses Public Health England’s methodology as the basis for its advice.