Transport Secretary Grant Shapps admitted that the UK's traffic light list for travel could be unpredictable, but committed to keeping the latest changes in place for the remainder of August.
It came as UK politicians face pressure to remove confusion and uncertainty from the traffic light system.
The plea from the travel industry came as ministers abandoned plans to create a new “amber watchlist” to warn travellers not to visit destinations such as Spain.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to "get the the travel industry moving again".
What are the green, amber and red lists?
Under the current rules, fully vaccinated travellers can return from amber list countries without quarantining, but those returning from red-list countries must pay £1,750 ($2,432) to spend 10 days in a government-approved hotel.
Unvaccinated passengers returning from amber countries need to self-isolate at home.
Any passenger returning from a green list country is not required to quarantine when they land in the UK. A separate green watchlist identifies the countries that could suddenly change from green to amber.
All travellers are required to take a pre-departure test and another two days after landing in the country.
What countries have turned from red to amber?
The UAE and Bahrain will be removed from the UK's travel red list, the British government announced on Wednesday night, providing a major boost to tourism and allowing families to be reunited.
They will join other amber list countries, meaning that people entering the UK from these points of origin do not have to pay to quarantine in a government hotel for 10 days.
The UAE was placed on the red list in late January. A decline in infections, a high vaccination rate and greater clarity on the virus strains means the UAE and Bahrain, with India and Qatar, will move from red to amber at 4am British Summer Time on Sunday, August 8.
Which countries turned green?
The Department for Transport stated it was “cautiously reopening international travel” by adding Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway to the government’s green list for travel.
Travellers from those countries do not need to be vaccinated but must present a negative Covid test within two days of arrival.
Can the rules change?
Mr Shapps said the changes would remain in place for the remainder of August, but said that the situation could change after then.
"We've certainly lived with coronavirus long enough to know it can be unpredictable. However, we’ve also lived with it long enough to get the majority of the population vaccinated," he told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.
"That does mean this summer we’re able to set out a three-week programme rather than one week, which was the situation last year.
"I’m hoping people will be able to go away under the simplified system, enjoy their breaks, not be looking over their shoulder the whole time and, as long as they follow the processes, they can have a great time."
What is the ‘amber watchlist’?
Ministers had been planning to introduce an amber watchlist to warn countries at risk of turning red at short notice, with arrivals having to quarantine in hotels.
But the idea was scrapped after a backlash from the travel industry, which argued holidaymakers could be deterred from going abroad.
Before abandoning the new designation, Mr Johnson said: "We must try and stop variants coming in, must stop importing variants from abroad, so we have to have a balanced approach.
"What I want to see is something that is as simple and as user friendly for people as possible."
At the weekend, the proposal to expand the number of travel categories caused a split among Cabinet ministers, some of whom argued that popular holiday destinations such as Spain could be put on the red list at short notice.
The special restriction placed on France, which was placed on the amber plus list, requiring passengers to self-quarantine for 10 days, even if they had been fully vaccinated, has been removed.
But, Georgia and Mexico, along with the French-run islands of La Reunion and Mayotte, have been added to the red list.
Why is the traffic light system causing tension?
Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned Mr Johnson that the UK’s travel restrictions were “out of step with our international competitors” and were putting a brake on the economy.
Mr Sunak is said to be calling for the UK to take advantage of its successful vaccination programme by opening up further.
It was the latest salvo in the battle over Britain’s border policy, with France last week accusing the UK of discrimination after it was placed on the so-called amber-plus list owing to the spread of the Beta variant.
This meant the quarantine exemption for the fully immunised was scrapped and those returning from France had to isolate for 10 days.
What does the travel industry say?
Heathrow Airport boss John Holland-Kaye said on Monday the industry wanted certainty for travel rules.
“We need to simplify as much as we can to enable more people to travel,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He urged ministers to use the dividend from the vaccination drive to reopen travel.
“We should be able to at least catch up with the Europeans,” he said.
“The UK should be showing that if you get vaccinated you can get your life back to normal.”
How has the traffic light system changed over time?
A significant change took place on Monday when the rules were tweaked to allow people fully vaccinated in the US and EU to avoid quarantine.
Previously, only people vaccinated in the UK could benefit from quarantine-free travel.
The government has said it plans to loosen quarantine arrangements for "like-minded" countries in coming months.
What did Boris Johnson say?
Mr Johnson warned would-be holidaymakers that Covid-19 was still dangerous.
"We must try and stop variants coming in, must stop importing variants from abroad, so we have to have a balanced approach," he said.
Company%20profile
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
Newcastle United 1
Joselu (11')
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The%20Last%20White%20Man
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
