Simon Calder answers 20 of your summer holiday travel questions

How long will red list status last for Turkey and Latin America? And can I escape Montenegro for Albania and dodge hotel quarantine?

Action stations: Simon Calder on the bridge of the Tor Ficaria (Simon Calder )

The travel correspondent of The Independent has latterly been helping his crew mates aboard a cargo ship from the Baltic to Immingham, as part of an effort to address the growing shortages on British supermarket shelves.

But he handed over control of the bridge to a colleague while he tackled readers’ questions for a hour.

Red alert

Q: When do you think the blanket ban on South America/lower Central America will end? Given vaccine rates and dropping cases it seems nonsensical to continue to punish an entire continent!

“Trying to travel 101”

A: “Nonsensical”? According to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, all decisions on which countries should be on the “red list” of high-risk nations – requiring arrivals to go into 11 nights of hotel quarantine at a cost, for a solo traveller, of £2,285 – are down to science.

“There’s no circumstance in which there is not a scientific basis, Mr Shapps said.

Officials at the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), which is part of the Department of Health, analyse the data and make recommendations to ministers – who, we are led to believe, merely rubber-stamp the JBC’s views.

So the reason that almost all of Latin America is on the red list is presumably because the JBC knows of variants of concern or shortcomings on data that go beyond the evidence available to the public. That is the only way there is a justification for consigning an entire continent to the no-go list, when some nations within it – for example Chile and Peru – appear to be extremely low risk. Chile yesterday had one-17th of the UK’s infection rate, according to Our World in Data, while Peru had one-50th.

Not everyone agrees that science is the sole concern of the government. The senior Conservative MP, Huw Merriman, who is also chair of the Transport Select Committee, told an event organised by Abta, the travel association, that government, Labour and the SNP are engaged in a “political arms race to the bottom” over restrictions on international travel.

Mr Merriman is asking the JBC to provide more information about its recommendations – not merely for changing advice, such as adding Montenegro to the red list, but for keeping countries where they are.

As the clamour grows for transparency in decision-making, I think it will be harder to justify maintaining blanket bans on regions such as Latin America and southern and eastern Africa, and that restrictions will start to fall away.

Closer to home, many prospective visitors to Turkey (staying red) and Poland (staying amber) would like to know why they have not been upgraded to amber and green respectively.

Q: If the next “traffic light” review is due 15 or 16 September, with another around 7 October, is it no coincidence that easyJet – having previously cancelled all flights to Turkey until March 2022 – has now reinstated flights from 9 October. What do they know?

Orhaniye

A: One of the reasons that the airlines have been increasingly furious with UK government travel restrictions is the manner of decisions being passed on.

In normal circumstances, you would expect a courtesy call from officials to airline bosses, about what will soon be announced. Instead, they have commonly found out via leaks from government to journalists, or sudden revelations on websites in Scotland or Northern Ireland, rather than any advance knowledge.

But easyJet may be of the mind (shared by many of us) that Turkey cannot surely remain on the red list beyond the next couple of reviews – and hoping it can get some useful last-ditch business for Turkey, particularly over half-term.

Q: Now that Thailand is newly on the red list, how long do you reckon it may be until those restrictions are lifted?

Cal

A: Of the many possible candidates for inclusion on the red list, Thailand simply wasn’t one I had envisaged. I imagine that the travel industry and the Thai authorities will be a lobbying intensively for the hotel quarantine obligation to be removed.

In addition, there is growing pressure on the government to reveal the data behind its decisions. But sadly as we have seen once a country is on the red list, kind of inertia seems to set in and it is very difficult to lose the high-risk status.

The best I can hope for is that by October we have a comprehensive re-drawing of the rules with a shorter list of red list locations based on very explicit and measurable criteria.

Q: Why did the Dominican Republic stay on red? And is there an end date for the traffic light system?

Lucie 123456

A: I have no idea why they Dominican Republic – and for that matter the Maldives – stayed on the UK government red list. And I have equally no idea when the traffic light system may end. There is certainly no appetite that I can see for relaxing the tight control the government has on our movements.

Q: I am in Montenegro, which has just been added to the “red list”. My plan is to leave Montenegro before it turns red at 4am on Monday 30 August and cross the border to Albania – an “amber list” country. If I fly back from Albania, would I be OK to enter the UK?

My argument is that my travel history is that I will have been in Montenegro while it was amber and Albania, still amber, for the previous 10 days before entering the UK.

Or does Montenegro count as a red country on my history as of Monday? I would really appreciate it if you could please clarify this.

Beatrixxx

A: It seems a perfectly reasonable argument: that you have spent the past 10 days only in countries that, at the time when you were there, were on the UK government’s medium-risk “amber list”. If you have been fully vaccinated in the UK or the EU, that means there is no need to to self-isolate on your return.

But I am afraid what counts is the status of Montenegro at the moment you enter the UK. The question effectively being asked is: “In the previous 10 days have you spent any time in a country that is, at this moment, on the red list?”

If this is the case then you must pay £2,285 (or, if there are two of you, £1,858 each) for 11 nights in hotel quarantine, including three meals a day and two PCR tests.

I imagine you will be keen to avoid this. So easyJet’s special departure this evening from Tivat in Montenegro to London Gatwick for £265 looks a reasonable proposition.

Alternatively, if you are able to spend more, you could enjoy an extended holiday of 10 full days in either Albania or Croatia (on the “green watchlist”) in order to “launder” your Montenegrin status.

Q: My family has been stuck in Libya for a few weeks now. Libya itself is amber, but there are no direct flights to the UK. The only indirect flights from Libya to the UK are via Egypt, Tunisia or Turkey. I was really hoping that one of those three countries would be promoted from red to amber.

Do you know of any other way they could come to the UK from Libya without having to hotel-quarantine on arrival? And what are the chances that all these three countries remain stuck in red until mid-October?

Adele UK

A: Sorry about this very difficult situation. I am looking at the FlightRadar24 departures from Tripoli Airport, and while many of them are to red listed Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey, there are also departures to Sudan (red list) and Niamey in Niger (amber list – but on the Foreign Office no-go list because of concerns about violence there). Also just because a flight is on FlightRadar24 doesn’t mean it will actually go.

All I can suggest is waiting for one of those three – Egypt, Tunisia or Turkey – to exit the red list. It won’t be long.

Portuguese posers

Q: We’re travelling to Portugal next week. Some of our party have only had one vaccination and I can see on Portugal’s travel guidance it states anyone without a full two doses of vaccine they must quarantine for 14 days on arrival. We are only staying for one week, so can those people quarantine in our villa for seven days and fly home after this point? Or will they have no choice but to stay for 14 days?

Steph W

A: Travel.sef.pt, the website for the Portuguese border force, makes it clear that self-isolation is possible at the traveller’s own property. But while quarantine can end early with departure abroad from the UK, I don’t think it will work for you.

The site stresses that prophylactic isolation for 14 days is mandatory. So I infer that they will not allow early release to leave the country.

Q: I’ve seen reports that Portugal were going to officially accept the Covishield vaccine (Indian-made AstraZeneca). Do you know when that will formally be in place? Are there issues now for people travelling to Portugal with this?

Emma J K

A: My understanding is that Portugal, like all other countries, is being pragmatic. While the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine made in India is still technically not authorised by the European Medicines Agency, a vaccination that is administered and recognised by the NHS is good enough for them.

Q: Does Portugal accept at home antigen tests if double vaccinated?

Kaggim

A: It will certainly not accept tests conducted by people using the free NHS lateral flow devices. Since the test result has to include the date and time the sample was collected the date of the result, and so on, a professionally conducted the test is always going to be the preferred option.

In transit

Q: I’m travelling from the UK to Switzerland via Amsterdam Schiphol next week. I’ve had both vaccinations. Am I correct in thinking there is no testing requirement if I’m in transit through Schiphol and when I arrive in Switzerland?

Liz 16

A: The UK is considered “a very high-risk area without a virus variant of concern” by the Netherlands, and therefore you will need to seek advice from the airline (presumably KLM) about the procedure to observe.

Note that because Switzerland is in the Schengen area, you will have to enter that zone at Amsterdam (a flight from the Netherlands to Switzerland is effectively domestic).

American adventures

Q: Any idea when the US will lift its ban on entry from the UK? I booked flights and a hotel package with BA in January to go to New York and Washington in October. If, as seems likely, I will not be allowed to travel, when would you advise approaching BA about getting the dates moved?

Andy 14959

A: You should be in luck. The president, Joe Biden, is in no hurry to remove his presidential proclamation banning UK visitors. But it looks increasingly hard to justify, and will surely have to change sometime soon.

Just as a point of guidance for the future I would not dream of booking an October trip to the US until perhaps a week beforehand. There is always going to be capacity.

Chinese whispers

Q: Sadly next month it will be two years since we’ve seen our son whom lives in Hong Kong. We’ve really missed our annual trip to Kowloon. Any indication when travel may resume without 21 days quarantine?

H Webster

A: Hong Kong – and the remainder of China – has been extremely robust in its demands for quarantine from travellers. As vaccination increases, I imagine that countries which are currently being very hard line will gradually ease their restrictions. But I hesitate to put any timeline on it – beyond saying, regrettably, I don’t think it will open up before 2022.

Italian connections

Q: What do you think the chances are of Italy dropping the five-day quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers from the UK and when do you think they’ll update the guidance for Monday?

JH1

A: I am very much hoping that the Italian authorities will update us this afternoon to say whether or not they will continue with the mandatory five day quarantine for British visitors to Italy. But if the last extension is anything to go by, we may not learn until Monday morning. Sorry.

Jab journeys

Q: Any updates about the UK accepting vaccines administered outside of the UK/US/European Union? I’m planning a visit to the UK from my home in Kuwait at the end of September. Even though Kuwait’s numbers are good, I don’t expect it to be added to the “green list” by then. So I’m more hopeful about getting in quarantine-free as a result of my vaccination status..

Malj

A: Last month ministers finally agreed to remove the need for self-isolation for fully vaccinated travellers from “amber list” countries to the UK. But as so often during the coronavirus pandemic, there was a big “but …”.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said it applied only to “UK residents who are fully vaccinated through the UK vaccine rollout”. In other words: only jabs administered by the NHS iwere considered sufficient.

Later that month, vaccinations given in the European Union and US were also recognised. “We’ve taken great strides on our journey to reopen international travel,” Mr Shapps insisted – even though the failure to accept jabs administered in Australia, Canada or, in your case, Kuwait, makes the UK a complete outlier.

I predict the British government will very soon have to reverse its decision to reject properly certified evidence of entirely valid vaccinations carried out abroad. While the UK remains in a category of its own, many thousands of low-risk vaccinated people coming from medium-risk locations are obliged to self-isolate at great inconvience. The decision is also adding to the destruction of the inbound UK tourism industry.

My guess is that early in September, when ministers return to the office, someone will finally notice the immense damage that is being caused, and perhaps suggest that this apparently arbitrary policy is reversed.

Spanish flyers

Q: Have there been any reports of travellers having issues boarding coming back from Spain to the UK with lateral flow results, instead of the UK government “preferred” PCR test?

Simon W

A: None. It is very frustrating that the government added this complication. It also seems highly unnecessary, given that the government claims nine out of 10 British people already take a PCR test before flying from Spain to the UK.

I must be the odd one out – I would always take a much cheaper faster and less stressful lateral flow test.

Q: Can you confirm entry to Spain from UK is NHS vaccination QR code and SPTH form. Then antigen test and passenger locator form on return to uk with pre-booked day two PCR?

Cordera

A: Yes. You might find this new article handy.

Q: I’ve been trying to find out what the rules are in Mallorca for this, but not finding it. Do you know what the rules are in the event someone tests positive on my flight over there? Thanks

Dan 1867

A: I am not sure how a fellow passenger being infectious would be discovered – there is no general requirement for testing on arrival. So I don’t believe there are any rules.

Testing times

Q: If I land Bristol one day, stay in a hotel overnight and fly out from Bristol the following day do I need to take a “day two PCR test”?

B Cleeve

A: Yes. Even though the government likes to call this post-arrival requirement the “day two” test, in fact it is “a day of arrival or either of the two following days” test.

It would be easiest to get it done at the airport on arrival. This will also maximise the public health benefit, because in the highly unlikely event that you are infectious, this would be rapidly picked up and you could act accordingly.

Canadian affairs

Q: Canada has indicated that it will be open to international leisure travellers from 7 September (US visitors are already allowed in). Various Canadian websites refer to this date as “planned” or “tentative”. My understanding is that the date is dependent on Canada’s domestic epidemiological situation. Given that 7 September is only 10 days away, should we not be expecting confirmation of this date from the Canadian government. Have you heard anything?

Fred Smith

A: My understanding is that the date is still planned, but I know there are some vocal Canadian medical experts who say that it is too early.

As we have seen, changes can take place – or not take place, in this case – at very short notice. So I wouldn’t be booking my flight to Toronto just yet.

Long-term planning

Q: How do you envisage travel changing following on from the 1 October review? Do you think the red list will be scrapped all together/move to home quarantine? Trying to plan for a career break with limited success!

“Trying to travel 101”

A: I feel your frustration. I have no idea if the October review of international travel rules will result in anything – there was supposed to be one at the end of July which came to nothing.

Furthermore the transatlantic travel task force is not exactly brimming with ideas and optimism.

As a result I am being extremely short-termist in my travel plans, but I recognise that anyone trying to plan a career break is going to want to have longer horizons. In your position I would be looking at a vast and intriguing nation that I could spend a long time exploring, such as India, rather than attempting a multinational expedition.