Turkey to be removed from England's red travel list - Times

Travellers returning to England from Turkey will not have to quarantine as the government is set to remove dozens of countries from the so-called COVID red list for travel, The Times newspaper said on Thursday.

Ministers will also announce on Friday that they will scrap the amber classification to simplify the traffic light system for international travel, instead dividing countries into either green list or red list, the newspaper said.

The red list - countries from which arrivals must quarantine in a hotel - will be more than halved, meaning that the vast majority of countries will be opened up for double-jabbed British tourists to visit freely, according to The Times.

The paper said a requirement for fully vaccinated travellers coming to Britain to take a PCR test will be scrapped, along with a need for passengers to take a lateral flow test up to 72 hours before their arrival.

The transport ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Airlines and airports have long argued a change to the rules was needed, saying it was stopping the travel industry from being able to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.