Malta and Balearic islands 'are ready for green list' after scientists declared ...

Malta and Balearic islands 'are ready for green list' after scientists declared ...
Malta and Balearic islands 'are ready for green list' after scientists declared ...

Ministers are under intense pressure to lift Covid travel restrictions on the Balearic islands and Malta today after scientists declared them safe.

Tory MPs and travel industry figures said the decision on whether to expand the green list is a vital test of the Government's willingness to save the summer holidays.

Ministers will meet this afternoon to decide whether to expand the list of destinations where quarantine-free travel is allowed. 

They will also debate plans for quarantine-free travel to amber list countries for those who are fully vaccinated.

An 'in principle' decision could come as soon as today, but ministers are still wrangling over the start date.

Whitehall sources told the Mail the Government's Joint Biosecurity Centre has advised that Malta and the Balearic islands meet the criteria for safe travel.

Opening up the Balearics is seen as a game changer as more than five million Brits visit Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca in a normal year. 

But there are fears that the Government could overrule the advice, as it did when Malta was put forward for approval last month. 

Ministers are under intense pressure to lift Covid travel restrictions on the Balearic islands and Malta today after scientists declared them safe. Pictured: The Maltese capital Valetta in May [File photo]

Ministers are under intense pressure to lift Covid travel restrictions on the Balearic islands and Malta today after scientists declared them safe. Pictured: The Maltese capital Valetta in May [File photo]

Tory MPs and travel industry figures said the decision on whether to expand the green list is a vital test of the Government's willingness to save the summer holidays. Pictured: A beach on the Balearic Island of Formentera

Tory MPs and travel industry figures said the decision on whether to expand the green list is a vital test of the Government's willingness to save the summer holidays. Pictured: A beach on the Balearic Island of Formentera

Sources last night said there was also a danger that Israel could be moved from green to amber.

Tory MP Henry Smith, chairman of the Future of Aviation Group, said: 'Frankly, these destinations should already be on the green list along with many others.

It is a nonsense that people are not able to travel freely to countries that have lower rates of infection than we do.' 

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: 'It's now or never if we are to have any sort of summer season and the data shows this can be done safely and proportionately with many more countries being added to the list.

'The future of our aviation industry and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports depends on it.' Culture minister John Whittingdale hinted at positive news yesterday, saying: 'Hopefully it will be possible to increase that number' of countries on the green list. Green list status is only allocated to destinations that can show they have low Covid rates and no significant problems with variants of concern. They also have to show that they can monitor for new variants.

Government scientists advised last month that Malta could be added to the green list, only to be overruled by ministers led by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Latest figures suggest infection rates on the island are less than half those in the UK.

Ministers are also close to an agreement on the plan to end quarantine requirements for the fully vaccinated. It is seen as the best chance for saving the travel sector this summer and would require travellers to prove their vaccination status either using the NHS app or with a paper record from their GP.

The Cabinet is split on the timing with some ministers favouring a July 9 start date and others wanting a more cautious approach.

A Government source said August is the most likely date but no final decision has been taken.

Make Britons isolate! Angela Merkel calls on EU nations to force UK travellers to quarantine because of high levels of Indian Covid variant 

By David Churchill, Transport Correspondent for The Daily Mail 

Angela Merkel yesterday called on other European countries to force UK travellers to quarantine on arrival in a major threat to ministers' plans to reopen foreign travel.

The German Chancellor said she would like other European nations to require travellers from countries with a high prevalence of the Indian variant, like Britain, to go into quarantine.

Mrs Merkel told the Bundestag lower house of parliament: 'In our country, if you come from Great Britain you have to go into quarantine – and that's not the case in every European country, and that's what I would like to see.'

Angela Merkel yesterday called on other European countries to force UK travellers to quarantine on arrival in a major threat to ministers’ plans to reopen foreign travel. Pictured: German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the Second Berlin Conference on Libya, in Berlin, Germany on June 23, 2021

Angela Merkel yesterday called on other European countries to force UK travellers to quarantine on arrival in a major threat to ministers' plans to reopen foreign travel. Pictured: German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the Second Berlin

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