UK airports are bracing for the busiest day of the year so far as coronavirus restrictions on foreign travel restrictions are finally eased in England.
Many eager passengers were seen arriving at Heathrow Airport in west London and Gatwick Airport in West Sussex from 6am this morning as the Government’s ‘traffic light system’ based on risk of catching the virus came into force.
Britain’s five busiest airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and Luton – are expecting to operate 124 flights to amber list countries today alone, including 23 to Spain.
It comes as millions have entered the next stage of Boris Johnson’s lockdown roadmap today, which sees hospitality allowed to reopen indoors and the rule of six is now in place inside.
Previously people faced a £5,000 fine for travelling abroad without a reasonable excuse, but now people are technically allowed to go on holiday for the first time this year.
Despite this it will still be difficult for Brits to escape abroad, with only a handful of countries on the coveted ‘green list’ which means people will not need to self-isolate on their return.
Most countries, including popular European holiday hotspots like France and Spain, remain on the amber list which means visitors must quarantine for 10 days, which can be cut to five under a test and release scheme if extra tests are paid for.