Chamber welcomes removal of key travel hubs from 'red list'

The Chamber has welcomed moves by the government to remove India and two key Middle East travel hubs from its coronavirus 'red list '.

The hubs are Qatar/United Arab Emirates and India, who now on the 'amber list '. This means fully vaccinated people can now travel without any quarantine restrictions - previously, all arrivals had to undergo a ten-day stay in a quarantine hotel.

Chamber international manager Stefanie Bowes said: “This is a great step for forward for some of our key global markets, which will allow businesses, students and diaspora to transit through two major Middle East Hubs. ”

Qatar had been added to the red list back in March, which has meant minimal travel between that country and the UK for the last six months.

Gary Kershaw, regional manager UK and Ireland, Qatar Airways, said: “We are very pleased with the recent movement of Qatar to the UK 's amber list and evidently, so are our customers.

“We saw a significant increase in booking enquiries overnight following the announcement as many travellers want to take advantage of this development to reconnect with UK-based family and friends, or simply visit the country for tourism and business purposes, flying on the world 's best airline. ”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said when announcing the easing of the red list restriction for the countries involved: “We are committed to opening up international travel safely, taking advantage of the gains we 've made through our successful vaccination programme, helping connect families, friends and businesses around the world.

“While we must continue to be cautious, today 's changes reopen a range of different holiday destinations across the globe, which is good news for both the sector and travelling public. ”