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Ministers accused of ‘playing with people’s Christmases’ amid plans to axe ‘red list’

Ministers accused of ‘playing with people’s Christmases’ by furious tourism chiefs amid plans to axe ‘red list’ after just two weeksGovernment ministers have been accused of ‘playing with people’s Christmases’ They were poised to axe the travel ‘red list’ hotel quarantines scheme for BritonsGrant Shapps thinks fully vaccinated Brits should test and quarantine instead Furious tourism bosses said thousands of Brits already cancelled trips abroad 

Ministers were accused of ‘playing with people’s Christmases’ last night as they were poised to axe the travel ‘red list’ hotel quarantine scheme.

Furious tourism chiefs pointed out that thousands of travellers cancelled trips to see loved ones abroad after the ‘No-Go’ list was revived little more than two weeks ago.

South Africa and ten other countries in Africa were added to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. But the variant is already spreading in the UK and across the globe.

Anybody arriving in the UK from countries on the red list were required to quarantine in hotels for 11 nights at a cost of £2,285.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps (pictured) is said to have convinced colleagues that, for fully vaccinated Britons, the ‘red list’ should be replaced with testing while quarantining at home instead

Paul Charles, chief of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘The government has to create a long-term strategy for when new variants emerge. ‘They can’t keep switching the industry on and off because it damages the sector every time’

The travel industry has blasted the moves, saying it will kill off travel over the key Christmas period

But transport secretary Grant Shapps is said to have convinced colleagues that, for fully vaccinated Britons, it should be replaced with testing while quarantining at home instead.

Data suggests that with Omicron spreading rapidly worldwide, draconian travel restrictions will have a limited impact on countries’ infection rates.

Fully vaccinated foreigners may still be forced to quarantine in hotels upon landing in England.

A meeting of the so-called ‘Covid O’ committee of cabinet ministers will take place this week, with an announcement potentially as soon as today.

Paul Charles, chief of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: ‘The government has to create a long-term strategy for when new variants emerge.

‘They can’t keep switching the industry on and off because it damages the sector every time.

‘The government is responsible for cancelling and playing with people’s Christmases when it comes to foreign travel. Lots of people have had to cancel trips over Christmas. They can’t continue to behave in this way.’

South Africa and ten other countries in Africa were added to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. But the variant is already spreading in the UK and across the globe

Furious tourism chiefs pointed out that thousands of travellers cancelled trips to see loved ones abroad after the ‘No-Go’ list was revived little more than two weeks ago

A meeting of the so-called ‘Covid O’ committee of cabinet ministers will take place this week, with an announcement potentially as soon as today

Since Omicron emerged, pre-return tests have also been re-introduced for the fully vaccinated while post-arrival swabs, to be taken by day two, must be more costly PCR tests rather than rapid lateral flow devices.

The travel industry has blasted the moves, saying it will kill off travel over the key Christmas period.

Airline CEOs were last night meeting with Treasury officials to protest against the measures, which are among the most draconian in Europe.

The changes mean the ‘red list’ is a policy likely to remain in place in case needed in future, but the eleven African countries currently on it will be removed.

The revival of the system has been plagued with issues, including travellers being unable to book hotel rooms because not enough have been acquired by ministers and reports of ‘grim’ food while quarantining. 

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