Travel warnings scrapped for former red list Egypt, the Maldives and Sri Lanka – here are the latest rules
The Foreign Office has lifted the travel warnings against Egypt, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, almost a week after they were taken off the red list.
The holiday hotspots were removed from the travel ban list last week, after the overhaul of the traffic light system which saw the green and amber lists scrapped.
However, while they were no longer on the red list, meaning holidays could go ahead, the Foreign Office did not remove the travel warning against all non-essential travel
This meant that Brits who had their holidays cancelled or affected by Covid would not be able to claim it back on their travel insurance, as the two government pieces of advice didn’t line up.
It also led to some tour operators cancelling holidays, if they didn’t have a special Covid insurance policy in place.
However, they announced yesterday that they no longer advise against all but essential travel to the destinations “based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks”.
This means holidays can once again go ahead to popular destinations.
Egypt and Turkey have seen booming demand from Brits who have been unable to visit for months, with deals from £343 for an all-inclusive break.
Tour operators are already warning UK holidaymakers to book summer holidays next summer as demand is resulting in fully booked hotels.
Last week, eight countries were removed from the red list, which also included Turkey, Kenya and Oman.
There is more good news for holidaymakers, with some of the mandatory tests will also be scrapped next month.
From October 4, Brits will no longer need pre-arrival tests, while the day two PCR test will be replaced with lateral flow tests, from the end of October.
However, while the move was initially praised as it was hope it would make holiday tests much cheaper, experts have warned the lateral flows could cost the same as the pricey PCRs.
This is despite claims from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps that holidaymakers could buy them from supermarkets for as little as £5, after Lidls in Ireland launched the cheap kits.
