The return of foreign travel to and from the UK will be "gradual and slow" as ministers caution against international trips.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday that Britain was in no rush to expand the green list of quarantine-free destinations because the country could not risk imported cases of Covid-19.
The remarks came as new analysis suggests up to 270,000 people in the UK will fly to amber list countries despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s warning that those nations should be avoided except for extreme reasons.
More than 1,300 flights are scheduled to fly to amber list countries in the five days up to Sunday at a rate of 54,000 passengers a day.
Mr Shapps reiterated that the “amber list and red list are not for holidaymakers”.
"The reason is we think after a year of lockdowns in this country, people coming forward in record numbers to get their vaccines, we don't want to be in a position of taking risks at this stage of our unlock," he told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.
“It’s a gradual and slow process and I know the public is on our side with this. They want it to be gradual and slow.”
Mr Shapps said the green list of 12 countries and territories would expand when other countries “catch up” with the UK’s vaccination campaign.
He said another major factor influencing the green list was the country’s genome sequencing capability to identify variants of the virus.
“We judge that individually, country by country,” he said.
“Yes, I expect the green list to expand but we are doing this very cautiously and most people support that.”
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said the UK government appeared to be “dismantling its own system” by discouraging travel to amber list countries.
“It’s absolutely legal to travel to amber list countries,” he said.
“When this was introduced, there was no indication that you shouldn’t travel to these countries because that’s what the restriction was supposed to do. It was there to make sure you could do this in a safe way.”
Forty-three countries are on the red list, requiring British residents to quarantine in an approved hotel for 10 days at a cost of £1,750 ($2,467).
Every other country was placed on the amber list – meaning travellers must quarantine at home on their return for 10 days and take PCR tests on days two and eight.
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More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper
Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
Match info
Karnataka Tuskers 110-3
J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16
Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs
K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Results
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m; Winner: Dhafra, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Al Ajayib, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
4pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Ashtr, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Falcon Claws, Szczepan Mazur, Doug Watson
5pm: Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Al Mufham SB, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Badar Al Hajri
5.30pm: Sharjah Marathon – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,700m; Winner: Asraa Min Al Talqa, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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The five pillars of Islam
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What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
