Please note – the UK government is set to drop the ‘green’ and ‘amber’ classifications from 4 October 2021. When this happens, countries will either be ‘red’ – meaning that travel is still effectively banned – or clear for travel, to those who have been double vaccinated.

International travel is slowly opening up, but current guidance on where and how you can fly, can change frequently depending on fluctuating infection levels, the emergence of new variants, and the degree of vaccination in a given country.

The guidelines for what constitutes legal travel (both domestic and international) can be found on the UK Government website.

Anyone entering the UK will need to fill out the government’s passenger locator form online before they re-enter the country.

Under the traffic light scheme, countries are assigned a colour – green, amber or red – as a guide to the restrictions in place for travelling to and from them.  

These are assigned in line with a number of risk factors, which include: the number of vaccinations in a particular country; the rate of infection; whether there are any worrying variants at large; and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.

For more and up-to-date information, visit the UK government’s website.

WHAT DO THE PARTICULAR COLOURS MEAN?

Green: arrivals who have not been double vaccinated will have to take a pre-departure test, as well as a PCR test on or before their arrival back into the UK, but they won’t need to quarantine unless they get a positive test result. Some countries allow you to travel without a test if you have been double vaccinated, so check each country’s recommendations.

Amber: arrivals who have not been double vaccinated, will have to quarantine for 10 days and take a pre-flight test. Then, they’ll need to take a PCR test on day 2 and day 8 of their quarantine, with the option to ‘Test and Release’ on day 5 to escape isolation early.

Returning travellers who have been fully vaccinated (that is, jabbed twice) skip the quarantine rules, as would happen with a ‘green’ country. For a little – OK, a lot – of inspiration, check out our feature The ‘amber list’ double vaccination rule is happening – so where should I go?

Red: arrivals will be placed under the same restrictions already in action for ‘red list’ countries. These include an obligatory 10-day stay in a designated quarantine hotel, pre-flight testing and PCR tests on days 2 and 8. You cannot go on holiday to a ‘red list’ country.

Test packages and quarantine hotels should be booked by the traveller before they set off.

More information can be found via the UK Government’s website.

Which countries are on the 'green list'?

The following easyJet destinations are on the travel ‘green list’:

All will remain on a travel watchlist, and could be removed from this list at any time. Despite the fact that these countries have been given the lightest travel restrictions, travellers must also check the restrictions for travel in those countries as well. The UK government still recommends not booking a holiday unless it is fully refundable.

The lists of green, amber and red countries can be found via the UK government’s website here.