Coronavirus: ‘We need to get the travel industry moving again,’ says Britain’s Boris Johnson
- Under rules to be reviewed on Thursday, double-vaccinated travellers can return to Britain without quarantine from countries rated amber on a traffic-light list
- Johnson’s travel regulations have angered some of Britain’s European allies and brought warnings from airports, airlines and tour companies
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he wanted to get the travel industry moving again with a simple, easy-to-use system to allow for trips abroad without importing new variants of the coronavirus.
“We need to get people, get the travel industry moving again,” Johnson told reporters. “We want an approach that is as simple as we can possibly make it.”
Britain has double vaccinated a higher proportion of its population against Covid-19 than most other countries, but the government has prevented travel to many destinations by imposing rules that the travel industry says are hobbling the economy.
Johnson’s travel regulations have angered some of Britain’s European allies, frustrated millions of sun-seeking Britons and brought warnings from airports, airlines and tour companies.
In a letter to Johnson that was leaked to media, finance minister Rishi Sunak called for an urgent easing of travel restrictions.
The Times newspaper reported that Britain planned to warn holidaymakers against visiting popular tourist destinations such as Spain because of concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.