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PRIVACY
Regional Development

'Serious questions remain' over Government's international travel traffic light system despite progress, says airports boss

Manchester Airports Group is currently in a legal fight with the Government

The travel industry has reacted to the Government's latest announcement(Image: PA)

The boss of the group behind Manchester, East Midlands and Stansted airports has said the Government's latest travel guidelines are "a long overdue step" but added that "serious questions remain".

Manchester Airports Group chief executive Charlie Cornish's comments came after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that fully vaccinated travellers from amber list countries may no longer have to self-isolate as he opened up holidays to several Mediterranean hotspots.

Mr Shapps followed the administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland in adding Malta and Spain's Balearic islands to the ranks of green list countries.

The list - from which returning travellers are not required to self-isolate - has also been extended to a number of Caribbean destinations including Bermuda, Antigua, Barbados and Grenada.

Mr Cornish said: "[This] announcement is a long overdue step towards a restart for international travel, giving customers more options when looking to book a holiday this summer.

"However, serious questions remain as to why these destinations weren’t opened-up sooner when there is clear evidence to suggest this could have been done weeks ago.

"At the same time, the Government has again failed to publish the data and advice it is using to inform its decisions, which makes it harder to prepare for any future changes to the lists.

"Stating an intention to enable double vaccinated people to travel to amber countries without the need to self isolate on return is also long overdue and this policy must be implemented as soon as possible.