France announces compulsory isolation for British tourists

France today announced it will tighten restrictions for UK travellers due to fears over the Indian variant in a fresh blow for eager British holidaymakers.

Arrivals from Britain will have to self-isolate in a bid to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 mutation, French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said following a cabinet meeting today.

The UK will join a list of 16 countries already on France’s mandatory quarantine list – such as Brazil, India, Argentina and Turkey – with tighter self-isolation and testing tules expected to be announced shortly.

Mr Attal said ‘France will set up compulsory isolation for people coming from the UK’ in a bid to stop the Indian variant from crossing the Channel, adding that details will be announced ‘in the coming hours.’ 

Ministers have yet to explain precisely what measures will be imposed in this ‘compulsory isolation,’ but it could mean a stay in a Government-approved hotel – similar to the British rule for those arriving from red list nations.

French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had raised the possibility of ‘slightly tougher’ restrictions for British tourists on Sunday.      

He suggested the UK could be put in a health category of its own, somewhere in between the strictest measures that France is imposing on visitors from India and 15 other countries, and more relaxed requirements being readied for visitors from the EU and some other countries.

Without giving specifics, Mr Le Drian said there was potential for ‘health measures that are a bit stronger’ but Paris is watching the progress of the Indian variant before making final decisions.

‘We hope that the variant can be controlled in a country which experienced real failures during the pandemic,’ he said.

‘However, the arrival of the Indian variant and the increase of cases of Indian variant in the United Kingdom pose a problem and so we are vigilant about this (and) in contact with the British authorities,’ he added.

‘It won’t be the red treatment if we have to do it. It will be an intermediate treatment,’ the minister said.

‘But it is not excluded – this springs to mind because of British tourists – that we have health measures that are a bit stronger.’

The tougher restrictions come after Germany declared Britain and Northern Ireland a virus variant region last week and required anyone entering the country from the United Kingdom to quarantine for two weeks on arrival.  

British arrivals in France are currently required to present a negative PCR test carried out less than 72 hours before departure and self-isolate for seven days. They are then asked to take another PCR test which must be negative for them to end the quarantine period.

It is unclear how the tightened restrictions will change these measures.     

France is broadly following the EU’s template for welcoming tourists, which are in the process of being updated. A ‘traffic light system’ should be fleshed out soon for what the restrictions for each category will be. 

A present the EU’s ‘white list’ only includes a small number of countries, including New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Thailand and Israel. The UK had looked likely to be added to the safe group, but decisions have been put off amid concerns over the Indian variant.

The latest blow for British holidaymakers comes as travel bosses today slammed Downing Street’s ‘utterly confusing’ advice on foreign holidays as they demanded the ‘green list’ is expanded to include the US and popular European destinations. 

The CEOs of easyJet, British Airways, Ryanair, Jet2, Tui UK and others have written to the Prime Minister to share their frustration at ministers’ recent comments telling Britons travel is ‘dangerous’ and urging them to ‘stay in this country’ rather than holiday abroad.

They asked Boris Johnson to ‘bank the gains from the huge success of the vaccination programme and expand the green list’ to include the US, the Caribbean and other European hotspots, saying Britons are now being left behind their neighbours. 

The signatories, which also included the CEO of Virgin Atlantic and Loganair, added they ‘fully understand’ concerns about the Indian variant of Covid-19, but say comments made in the past week have ‘moved the goalposts’ and ‘undermined the very purpose of the risk-based traffic light system.’

The letter says: ‘The Government now appears not to want a meaningful restart to international travel this summer, and it is impossible for any business or consumers to plan under this scenario, such that we are genuinely fearful that some UK businesses may fail.

‘Failures can be avoided. The science shows clearly the green list can be expanded safely now, including to many European countries, the US and the Caribbean. 

‘Many currently amber countries have significant levels of vaccinations, rapidly decreasing case numbers and, according to test and trace data, often considerably less than one per cent of arrivals testing positive with no identified variants of concern entering the country. Under an evidence-based system based on risk, these should be green.’

It comes as it emerged today that some of the most popular holiday islands for eager British holidaymakers may soon be added to the quarantine-free ‘green’ list – even if their mainland is not.

This raises the prospect of summer travel to the Greek, Canary and Balearic islands as the next tranche of green list countries are announced next month, even if Spain and Greece remain amber.

Speaking in the letter today, travel leaders warned the UK risks ‘falling behind the rest of the world, with long-term consequences for our connectivity and prospects of a Global Britain’ if it remains grounded while the rest of Europe opens up. 

They added that Britain has ‘never been in a better position’ to manage the risk from Covid-19 due to its highly successful vaccine roll-out which today opened to those aged 30 and above. 

The letter added: ‘Along with the vaccination programme, our testing system allows us to assess inbound risk from medium and higher risk countries. With this safety net, we urge you to stick to the established framework, end confusion for travellers and allow our businesses to plan.

‘Airlines can deliver a meaningful restart safely but a second lost summer for the sector, due to a limited expansion of the green list compared to our neighbours, would cause lasting damage to the UK’s aviation, travel and tourism industries. 

‘In that case there would be an urgent need for a dedicated aviation economic support package to safeguard many thousands of jobs otherwise under threat and protect the essential infrastructure that will be critical to the UK’s recovery and future prosperity.’

Speaking earlier, the CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, Steve Heapy, insisted confusion over foreign holidays was worsened by the fact Foreign Office advice was not always aligned with the traffic light system.

He told the Guardian: To have two separate lists is utterly confusing … we have to make decisions based on conflicting information.’ 

EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said: ‘Customers want to travel this summer – they value their holidays, want to reunite with loved ones after many months of separation and develop their businesses so I urge the Government to increase the Green list and let the UK take off once again.’  

Andrew Flintham, Managing Director for TUI UK and Ireland, said holidays to destinations including Spain, Greece, some Caribbean islands and the US should now be possible due to the worldwide vaccination effort.

He added: ‘We’re already seeing other European markets open up to travel and welcome back customers, so now is the time for the UK to do the same. We’re a nation of travellers, so it’s time to stop limiting our ability to travel where it’s safe to do so. 

‘Whilst we’ve offered outstanding flexibility for customers this summer, what customers really want is to be able to take the holiday they’ve booked and look forward to.’

Charlie Cornish, CEO of Manchester Airports Group, owner of Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands airports, said: ‘The Government is holding back international travel despite clear evidence that more countries should be on the green list. 

‘The UK’s traffic light system ignores the benefits of our world-leading vaccination programme, which was meant to give Britain a head start and let people visit family and go on holiday this summer. Instead, the Government is actively telling people not to travel to amber list countries despite creating a system that makes it safe for them to do so.

‘At the same time, we are requiring millions of people with immunity from Covid-19 to pay for PCR tests to gather data on variants that other governments reliably collect already. 

‘With so much at stake, the Government must work transparently and collaboratively with industry to create a simple, fair and sustainable system that will truly get Britain flying again.’

Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said: ‘The UK will rapidly fall behind the rest of Europe unless it looks again at its overly cautious approach to international travel. 

‘There is no reason why our green list can’t be expanded to include the US and the most popular European hotspots, or for the UK not to follow the EU’s lead in exempting vaccinated travellers from restrictions.

‘It is time to allow UK citizens to take advantage of the fantastic success of the vaccine rollout but at the moment our competitors are reacting faster to the improving health situation and will reap the rewards this summer.’

Mark Tanzer, CEO of Abta – The Travel Association, said: ‘It is illogical for the Government to not follow its own traffic light system – it makes no sense for Ministers to say people shouldn’t travel to amber countries when the Government’s own system allows people to do so in a risk-managed way. 

‘Travel agents and tour operators, and their customers, need a clear and simple system to follow without contradictions otherwise our sector’s recovery will be unnecessarily slow and drawn out.’