Heathrow and Gatwick: Latest Foreign Office travel advice for US, Canada, the Caribbean Islands and Mexic
North and South American countries are calling many British holidaymakers who are desperate for a holiday.
Although anyone planning on visiting any of these destinations this year will need to know the current Covid rules.
Thursday (June 24) saw the second review of destinations that are deemed safe to travel to by the government announced.
The green list went from being 11 countries to 27, of which the changes will come into effect from June 30.
Countries on the green list are the only places the government currently recommends travelling to on holiday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “You should not be going to an amber list country on holiday”
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Boris Johnson said: “It is very, very clear – you should not be going to an amber list country except for some extreme circumstance, such as the serious illness of a family member.
“You should not be going to an amber list country on holiday.
Countries on the green list so far include:
Madeira, Malta, the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera and Ibiza), Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Turks & Caicos, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Israel and Jerusalem, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Iceland, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and St Helena, Tristan de Cunha, Ascension Island.
Reviews are expected to be made every three weeks, so the next one will presumably be announced on July 15 unless the government call for an earlier one.
The Caribbean Islands that are therefore safe to travel to include: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Unfortunately, none of the US, Canada, and Mexico have been added to the green list – they all remain amber.
Ministers have been accused of being ‘overly cautious’ with adding counties to the green list and that their hesitancy won’t “save summer.”
Henry Smith, Tory chairman of the all-party Future of Aviation Group, said: “What the travel and tourism sector needs is a certainty, and putting them on an amber light or uncertain green won’t provide that.
“I welcome the direction of travel that sees greater, safer reopening but the list of green countries is overly cautious and the cost and complexity of testing is still a discouraging factor for people being able to travel.”
Anyone wanting to go to the US, Canada and Mexico will have to wait until the next review, or swap your trip for a holiday in the Caribbean – certainly not the worst alternative.