Greece ready to welcome Brits ‘from May’ as government revamps NHS app for vaccine passports
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Greece is under discussions to begin welcoming British visitors as early as May, according to reports, as the Prime Minister draws up plans for vaccine passports to resume foreign travel.
Under fast-tracked plans, Athens is considering a departure from the EU’s cautious approach to resuming non-essential travel from outside the bloc, the Telegraph reported.
Greece has already struck “vaccine bubble” agreements with Israel and Cyprus, which will see vaccinated people able to move freely between the countries without needing to quarantine.
Unveiling his roadmap for exiting lockdown earlier this week, the Prime Minister said international travel will resume no earlier than 17 May.
Boris Johnson added that the government is currently looking into the creation of vaccine passports for international travel.
“When you look at the international side of things, international travel, there’s no question that’s where a lot of people, a lot of countries will be going,” he said.
“They will be insisting on vaccine passports in the way that people used to insist on evidence that you’ve been inoculated against Yellow Fever or whatever. “So it’s going to come on the international stage.”
The Times reported today that the NHS app will be converted into a digital Covid certificate, allowing people to use their mobile phones to prove they have been vaccinated.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) confirmed this afternoon that it will launch a new Travel Pass to manage the spread of Covid-19 as global travel resumes.
The platform will enable authorised labs and test centres to securely send vaccination certificates to passengers, which will form part of a digital passport.
Health secretary Matt Hancock added that a new British travel taskforce will review the risks of bringing mutant variants back into the UK, and will announce a decision on 12 April.
It comes as the global tourism industry gears up for the return summer holidaymakers after more than a year of grounded flights.
Other holiday destinations including the Balearics Islands have signalled they may also start welcoming vaccinated Brits from May.
However, home secretary Priti Patel this afternoon refused to confirm whether international travel will be able to resume this summer, saying it was still “too early” for Brits to book a holiday.
Patel told the Home Affairs Committee: “The government has been very clear about looking at the data and other factors [such as] a new variant. There are too many factors to consider before we can even speculate in a binary way, yes or no, if people should be travelling.”
She added that “a lot of work is taking place” between various government departments, who are assessing timeline for lifting the current ban on non-essential travel overseas.