Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Liveupdated

Travel news - live: Vaccinated travellers head off for Europe amid new quarantine exemption rules

New rules came into effect at 4am

Cathy Adams,Helen Coffey
Monday 19 July 2021 04:48 EDT
Comments
Mykonos is now on the menu for fully vaccinated travellers
Mykonos is now on the menu for fully vaccinated travellers

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Thousands of travellers arriving in the UK are encountering drastic changes in self-isolation rules.

The main change for British passengers who have been fully vaccinated by the NHS is that they no longer need quarantine for 10 days when arriving from “amber list” countries – such as Spain, Italy, Greece and the US.

The first beneficiaries were aboard British Airways flight 262 from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, which touched down just 33 minutes after the 4am change in rules. Two more flights from amber list locations, Lagos and New York, had arrived by 6am.

The first ferry to arrive from an amber list location was Stena Line from Hook of Holland to Harwich, which docked at 6.30am.

Passengers must still provide a negative coronavirus test result before departure to the UK, and pre-book a post-arrival PCR test.

Quarantine exemption begins today

The quarantine exemption for double-vaccinated Britons returning to England, Wales and Scotland today from amber countries will take effect.

It means anybody arriving from now amber-listed Balearics, or elsewhere in Europe, will follow “green” rules: one pre-departure lateral flow test and a day two PCR test.

Cathy Adams19 July 2021 09:00

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in