UK to lift travel advice for additional 51 countries and territories

The move will make it simpler for passengers to obtain travel insurance

Passengers queue at Border Force desks at Heathrow. Reuters

Passengers queue for the Arrival Hall at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, due to a problem with the self-service passport gates.

Picture take with permission from the twitter feed of @ChristianDJones of closed self-service passport gates as passengers arriving at Heathrow are being forced to wait in long queues or are being held on planes due to a problem with self-service passport gates.

Picture take with permission from the twitter feed of @ChristianDJones of passengers queuing for the Arrival Hall at London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, due to a problem with the self-service passport gates.

Passengers in a waiting lounge at Bristol Airport on October 3 ahead of the relaxation of travel rules in the UK. Getty Images

From October 4, the UK is simplifying its traffic-light system governing international travel, retaining only a "red list" from which arrivals must quarantine in government-designated hotels. Getty Images

Heathrow Airport has in recent weeks been hit by delays for passengers arriving. Photo: Shona McCallin / Twitter

A glitch in e-gates at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 caused long delays for arrivals. Photo: @johnny_sutton / Twitter

A member of staff cleans a sign at Heathrow's Terminal 5 in west London as quarantine restrictions ease. AFP

Passengers arrive at Heathrow. EPA

Greeted with an embrace at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5. AFP

Loved-ones arriving from the US at Heathrow. AFP

A mother holds a sign for her son as she waits for him at Terminal 5. AFP

The UK government is lifting its advice against non-essential travel to a further 51 countries and territories.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the decision allows people to “exercise personal responsibility”.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will lift its advice for the Bahamas, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Martinique, Palau, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Western Sahara on Friday.

Advice for a further 42 countries will be lifted on Monday, including Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Indonesia, Mexico, the Seychelles, South Africa and Thailand.

It follows the removal of travel advisories to 32 countries on Wednesday, and is part of a new policy to stop advising Britons to avoid all but essential travel to non-red list countries on Covid-19 grounds except in “exceptional circumstances”, such as if the local healthcare system is overwhelmed.

This makes it simpler for people visiting those locations to obtain travel insurance.

Ms Truss said: “These updates make travel abroad easier – boosting trade, tourism and reuniting friends and families.

“I am delighted that the safe reopening of travel allows people to exercise personal responsibility and visit more destinations across the globe.

It comes after Downing Street announced changes to the red list, slashing the number of countries with the highest level of restrictions from 54 to seven.

Among the 47 countries removed were South Africa, Mexico and Cuba, meaning passengers returning to England from these destinations will no longer be required to enter hotel quarantine.

The countries staying red are Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, the Department for Transport said.

Anyone arriving in the UK from a location in the red tier must spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel.

This costs £2,285 ($3,100) for solo travellers, making such trips too expensive for many people.

The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own travel rules but have recently mirrored announcements made in Westminster.

It comes as transport secretary Grant Shapps is set to scrap rules that state travellers need a PCR test to enter Britain, with cheaper lateral flow tests expected to be accepted instead.

The move, which is expected before the half term holiday, could save families hundreds of pounds during trips aboard.