London, 28 July 2021: Fully jabbed travellers from the amber list countries which include the United States and most of Europe will now be able to travel to the UK without needing to quarantine on their arrival, as part of a range of new measures devised to continue to drive forward the reopening of international travel.

The arrivals from France will continue to need to quarantine for ten days, even if they are fully vaccinated due to the number of cases involving the South African “Beta” variant of Covid-19. The restriction is scheduled to be reviewed at the end of next week.

To further support the safe restart of international cruise travel, It was also announced that international cruises will soon be allowed to depart from 2 August after a 16-month pause to help the industry build back from COVID-19.

In a meeting of senior ministers on 28th July, the go-ahead was given to those who have been fully inoculated in the US and Europe and the new regulation will come into effect from 2 August at 4 am, transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced. Travellers will need to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test on or before the second day after their arrival.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said that the vaccination programme is building a wall of defence against this virus so we can safely enjoy our freedoms again, with 7 in 10 adults in the UK now double jabbed.

“By reopening quarantine-free travel for travellers who have been fully vaccinated in European countries and the USA, we’re taking another step on the road to normality which will reunite friends and families and give UK businesses a boost,” he said.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) appreciated the update on international travel rules, which the airline industry has been urging for. “Restriction-free international travel will be a vital piece of the recovery jigsaw, and ending quarantine requirements for fully-vaccinated arrivals from the US and EU is a huge step towards that goal,” said Tom Thackray, CBI Director of Infrastructure.

“The news will come as a significant boost to the beleaguered travel industry, while also restoring important business links with key trading partners. The task now is to implement these changes as rapidly and smoothly as possible, which should include an efficient pre-travel system of assessing passengers’ Covid-status to prevent congestion at airports,” he said.

The news comes as a sigh of relief for people travelling and would benefit millions of people by finally letting them be reunited with family, friends based in the UK, as well as businesses in the aviation, event industry and tourism sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic.