Published on Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Overseas holiday ban to be lifted for whole of England

Holidaymakers in England will be free to travel abroad once the latest lockdown lifts at midnight on 2 December.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC that there would be no ban on international travel, even for those living in Tier 3 areas.

He told the Radio 4 Today programme that as long as people from higher risk areas went straight to an airport "that is something you can do".

He said the new tier restrictions that will replace the nationwide lockdown on 3 December will only prevent people from the highest risk areas from travelling around the rest of the country.

But residents will be free to leave these areas to travel internationally as long as they follow the local rules in their destination and quarantine in the UK when returning from countries not on the travel corridor list.

Mr Shapps told the BBC that the government wasn't in the business of telling people that they could not travel, even though it has imposed a ban on all non-essential international travel since the start of the second lockdown

"You will be able to travel again after 2 December," he added. "Obviously, you should be sensible and cautious with it."

Mr Shapps announced this morning that the quarantine period for people returning to the UK from destinations not on the travel corridors list will be reduced from 15 December if they take a Covid test on day five. If the test is negative they will be freed from quarantine, if it's positive they'll have to isolate for the full 14 days.

Further details of the new test-and-release scheme, including the type of test required and the cost, have yet to be published by the Department for Transport.

By Linsey McNeill, Editor (UK)