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UK to allow fully vaccinated travellers from Europe to skip quarantine (but not tests)

The UK government has announced details of how fully vaccinated travellers from countries in Europe to the UK can skip the mandatory 10-day quarantine when arriving in England, Scotland and Wales.

UK to allow fully vaccinated travellers from Europe to skip quarantine (but not tests)
(Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP)

Transport Minister Grant Shapps took to Twitter to announce the move, saying the UK government was “helping to reunite friends and families”. 

“We’re helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends in the UK,” he said. The relaxation applies to arrivals in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland was set to consider the quarantine rules on Thursday. 

The relaxation does not affect travellers from France given that the UK recently ranked France as effectively “amber plus”.

“Separate rules will continue to apply for those arriving from France,” the government said.

The UK government had previously relaxed the quarantine rules only for arrivals from amber-level countries who had been vaccinated under the British National Health System.

That caused much anger among Britons living abroad, who complained they were effectively being barred from seeing family at home.

After much speculation in recent days the UK government has finally moved to level the playing field.

Now from 4am on August 2nd any travellers from amber level countries – which includes the majority of European nations –  arriving in Britain who have been fully inoculated with a vaccine recognised by the European Medical Agency or Swiss vaccination programme (Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Moderna or Johnson &Johnson) can now skip the mandatory 10 day quarantine.

“The UK Government has today (28 July) announced that passengers arriving from amber countries who have been fully vaccinated in Europe (EU Member States, European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) and the European microstate countries of Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City) and the USA will not have to quarantine when entering England, as part of a range of new measures designed to continue to drive forward the reopening of international travel,” said a statement from London.

However travellers (apart from children under 10) will still need to provide a negative test no more than three days prior to travel and take a PCR test on the second day after arriving in the country (apart from children aged 4 and under).

Passengers from all countries also cannot travel to the UK unless they have completed a Passenger Locator Form. 

One thing that wasn’t immediately clear from the government’s statement is whether the PCR test needed on day 2 after arrival needed to be booked in advance of travel as is currently the case.

The UK does accept lateral flow or antigen tests for pre-travel requirements.

The relaxation for the moment does not apply to travellers from France – whether returning British residents or people living in France – given that the UK ranked France as a so-called “amber plus” country.

That last-minute decision caused much anger and bafflement because the UK government said it was based on the spread of the Beta variant in France – which has in fact been falling and remains less than five percent of all cases.

In recent days there has been speculation the British government will return France to normal amber level but not announcement has yet been made.

What has the reaction been from Britons in Europe?

Many took to Twitter as usual following the UK announcement to express relief at the move but also annoyance that they would still have to take PCR tests in the UK, which can be costly.

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Member comments

  1. As an American living in France who hasn’t seen my daughter in the UK for a year, I’m just plain angry. I have even been vaccinated with the OXFORD AstraZeneca vaccine, and I still can’t travel into the UK without quarantining. Why single out France except for political retribution? As the article states, it is NOT for any health reason, at this point.

        1. For vaccinated individuals the pre travel Covid tests and day 2 tests are a nonsense. Furthermore how is a family supposed to go to the UK when children have to vaccinate. We all know that children under 18 are not being vaccinated.

  2. So what happens if we want to drive back to visit relatives in the UK from Germany, driving through France to get Eurotunnel?🤷‍♀️

    1. You currently still have to quarantine but this is likely to change next Wednesday when/if France moves from amber+ to amber

    2. For anyone who has been in France in the last 10 days… even if you are fully vaccinated.

  3. Have booked flight and puzzled what are the requirements if you are going to the UK for just one night. Ie arrival day is day zero and you are leaving on day one. Am guessing you have to book a day 2 test to get into the country but then ditch it and just return on day one? Although as it implies you can have it anytime post arrival up to day two is one obligated regardless to have a test in the limited window?

  4. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england

    “If you will be in England for less than 10 days
    If you’re travelling to England for less than 10 days, you will need to quarantine for the whole of your stay.

    You must still book your day 2 and day 8 travel tests, even if you will no longer be in England on the dates of the tests. You only need to take the tests if you’re still in the country on those dates.”

    My interpretation is that you’d still need to book a day 2 test even if you only plan to stay for 1 day……but you don’t have to take it (?) – stupid.

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Here’s what you need to know about travel in Denmark in the summer of 2024

July 1st marks the official start of school holidays in Denmark, so on the preceding weekend the roads will be chock-a-block with summer traffic. Here's what you need to know about travel this summer.

Here's what you need to know about travel in Denmark in the summer of 2024

Roads 

The Danish Road Directorate is predicting a surge in traffic starting the moment “the bell rings in the country’s schools on Friday afternoon”. 

“Many have probably already packed the car with beach blankets and swimwear and ticked off the calendar for the exact day when they have planned to drive to a holiday home, to the beach or south down through Europe,” the directorate says in its summer traffic guide. 

Summer traffic will start from 2pm on Friday June 28th, with the directorate warning of “heavy traffic and a risk of minor traffic jams”, growing to a peak on Saturday June 29th when the directorate is warning of a “significant risk of traffic jams and longer journey times”. 

On Sunday, June 30th, the peak will subside to the same levels as on Friday 28th. The pattern will then be repeated on Saturday July 6th (very heavy traffic) and Sunday July 7th (quite heavy), and Saturday July 13th (very heavy) and Sunday July 14th (quite heavy), as people return from weeks off or set off late. 

The peak of return traffic will come on Saturday August 10th and Sunday August 11th, when the directorate is again warning of a “significant risk of traffic jams and longer journey times”. 

You can see worst dates here on the roads directorate’s traffic light chart. 

Source: Danish Roads Directorate

Where will the summer traffic hotspots be? 

Traffic will be particularly bad on the E20 motorway between Køge, south of Copenhagen, and then across the Great Belt Bridge, and also on the E20 through the western half of Funen.

It will also be bad on the E45 motorway around Kolding and at the border with Germany. 

The directorate also expects heavy traffic to and from the ferry ports towards Germany at Rødby and Gedser as well as the E45 between Aarhus Nord and Skærup.

READ ALSO: How to decode Denmark’s old-fashioned motorway names

There will also be traffic on the weekend changeover days on roads to and from Denmark’s most popular coastal holiday areas. 

The roads directorate is warning particular of Route 21 to and from Sjællands Odde, Route 16 north of Hillerød, Route 11 along the west coast of Jutland, Route 55 at Løkken and Blokhus and Route 40 to and from Skagen.

Trains 

Up until Sunday 25 August, Denmark’s rail track operator Banedanmark is upgrading the tracks between Copenhagen, Slagelse and Odense, leading to changed departure times and longer journey times. The track work will also affect EuroCity trains to Hamburg from Copenhagen. 

Denmark’s train operator DSB recommends that travellers check the planned departure and travel times on the Rejseplanen app on the day before their departure. 

Flights 

Denmark’s airports are likely to be busier than usual as tourists stream in and Danes set off to even sunnier and warmer climes for their holidays, but there are no strikes or other disruptions expected. 

Those travelling elsewhere in Europe should be aware of a potential traffic controller’s strike at Paris Orly airport, from the second week of July, a baggage handler’s strike on July 5th at Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Venice’s Marco Polo, and Bologna’s Guglielmo Marconi airports in Italy, and an aircraft technicians’ strike affecting flights from Norway operated by Norwegian and Widerøe.

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