Tory MPs have urged Boris Johnson’s government to drop advice recommending UK travelers to take the most expensive type of Covid tests, saying passengers are ‘ripped off’.

Airlines bosses have also lamented the decision not to ease requirements for PCR testing – which has been condemned as a ‘£ 100 per capita tax on flights’ by the industry.

Despite relief over the government’s decision to keep Spain on the Orange List, there was anger over new advice urging holidaymakers to take the expensive PCR tests before returning from Spain – although it wasn’t not a legal obligation.

The changes to the traffic light system are a “positive step forward,” but the government needs to move faster in opening up international travel, industry experts have warned.

The confirmation that France is joining the orange list is “positive” especially during the “critical” period of school holidays, said Mark Tanzer, head of Abta, the travel association.

But he warned the government “is not fully capitalizing on the successful deployment of the vaccine” with a “very cautious” green list approach and “not easing travel restrictions, including requirements for multiple tests even while of visiting low-risk destinations. “

He said: “As a result, the UK is falling behind our European competitors and the opening of international travel from UK is progressing at a snail pace – making it extremely difficult for travel agents and tour operators to generate enough revenue to kickstart a recovery, which is desperately needed to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods. ”

Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said the extension of the greenlist is “a positive step forward” but warned the UK remains “far from a full and meaningful restart of international travel ”.

Last night’s surprise update to traffic light listings brought good news to the travel industry, but companies are urging the government to go further.

Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO of British Airways, said: “This week we have witnessed some moving scenes at the airport as restrictions on fully vaccinated travelers from the US and EU have finally been lifted. raised, allowing their loved ones to reunite in complete safety.

“We welcome the addition of more low risk countries to the Green List, but urge the government to go further, end the uncertainty and allow people to benefit from our premier immunization program. plan. The UK’s economic recovery depends on a thriving travel industry and we are currently lagging behind Europe, with our stricter testing requirements and a much larger red list than our European peers. “

The US government is working on a plan that will eventually require almost all foreign visitors to be fully immunized when traveling to the United States.

According to an anonymous official, the White House is currently working with an interagency group to reopen travel on a gradual basis.

Currently, most non-US citizens are not allowed to enter the country if arriving from UK, Schengen area countries in Europe, Ireland, China, India, South Africa or Brazil.

Travel associations hailed the changes in the traffic light system as a “positive step forward”, but also warned that the government “is not fully capitalizing on the successful deployment of the vaccine” with a “very cautious approach” “from the green list.

Mark Tanzer, head of the Abta Travel Association, also criticized the government for “its inability to relax travel restrictions, including multiple testing requirements even when visiting low-risk destinations.”

He said: “As a result, the UK is falling behind our European competitors and the opening of international travel from UK is progressing at a snail pace – making it extremely difficult for travel agents and tour operators to generate enough revenue to kickstart a recovery, which is desperately needed to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods. ”

Simon Calder of The Independent says the way the traffic light changes are implemented raises some questions. These include the upgrading of the status of the United Arab Emirates from the red list to the amber list, while the French overseas territory of Reunion is moved to the red list.

What has changed now about the UAE, for example, given that their previous redlist reasoning was that it was a transit hub?

The aviation industry has also slammed Boris Johnson’s government for its latest review of travel restrictions, after paving the way for British families to visit France without quarantine this summer, but only smuggled a handful of countries through to the lowest risk category.

Calling this a “missed opportunity”, the chief executive of industry body UK Airlines, Tim Alderslade, said government policy puts them “at odds with [the] European neighbors and clearly does not represent the liberation of aviation that the Prime Minister had spoken of ”.

He also criticized the government for not relaxing the requirement for expensive coronavirus PCR testing for UK arrivals, saying the move means the UK will continue “to open up much more slowly than the rest. from Europe “.

The travel industry has reacted strongly to the UK government’s latest review of travel restrictions, with Brittany Ferries describing the easing of travel restrictions as “too little and too late to save our summer season”.

The UK government, in the latest overhaul, removed quarantine rules for fully vaccinated travelers from France, placing the country on the amber list.

But by the time the changes take effect, most people “would have already canceled their summer vacation in France, thanks to the chaotic and baseless implementation of self-quarantine for returning travelers”, said Nigel Wonnacott of Brittany Ferries.

Why did the government put France on the controversial “amber plus” list?

The British government downgraded Georgia, Mexico and the French overseas territories of Reunion and Mayotte from orange to red in the latest reshuffle of the list of traffic lights for international travel.

From August 8, people entering the UK from these destinations will now be required to self-quarantine for 10 nights at a government-mandated hotel.

The British government moved India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from the Red List to the Amber List, in its latest review of the traffic light system for international travel.

This means that those returning to the UK from these countries will no longer have to book a quarantine hotel package.

Learn more about the Amber List rules for them in this report: