Airline industry welcomes amber watchlist scrapping
After intense opposition from the travel industry and from within his own party, PM Boris Johnson ditched the amber watchlist.
The PM conceded the extra tier was confusing to would-be holidaymakers and vowed to keep travel rules ‘as simple as possible.’
"I obviously understand that people care very much about holidays. People want to go abroad. I understand how much people plan, prepare, for the summer holidays," Johnson said.
"What I want to see is something that is as simple and as user- friendly for people as possible."
Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK said the decision is a common sense one.
"People want a clear and consistent travel system that they can understand and that is workable," he said.
"We now need to go further and set our sights on the real prize this week — getting more countries on to that green list before it’s too late."
Manchester Airports Group also welcomed the axing of the watchlist.
"We already have a hugely complex system, a traffic light system that governs travel, and I think most people are struggling to keep up with those changes, Tim Hawkins of MAG told the BBC.
"To hear that we were about to have another level of complexity added to that I think was concerning for people."
"Whenever those rules change it impacts people’s plans and it dents people’s confidence."
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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