Travel corridor list: UAE, Bahrain, Chile and Iceland are now quarantine-free destinations

According to the tweet made by Transport secretary Grant Shapps, “Bahrain, Chile, Iceland, Cambodia, Laos, UAE, Qatar and Turks and Caicos Islands have been added to the Travel Corridor list.”

In this regard, travellers arriving from these countries after 4 am on Saturday 14 November will NOT need to self-isolate for two weeks.

In response to this measure taken by the UK government, in easing travel restrictions for the countries as mentioned above, the UAE ambassador His Excellency Mansoor Abulhoul had expressed joy. He had said that “The announcement of a UAE-UK travel corridor today is brilliant news and a testament to the strength of the UAE-UK relationship.” He believes that this lays a promising foundation for when regular international travel resumes. 

The UAE ambassador has also added that “The UAE remains one of the safest places in the world against Covid-19 and continues to have one of the highest testing rates globally. Our hotels, restaurants and malls have been up and running since April and look forward to hosting many British visitors again soon.”

The chief executive officer of travel consultancy for the PC Agency has also expressed his enthusiasm about the news in one of his tweets as “…this is a significant move to open up long-haul destinations. It re-connects the #UK to Gulf hubs and the world and enables plans to be made for #December travel.”

It appears to be a piece of excellent news for the Britons looking forward to post-pandemic travel because the countries added to the UK Travel Corridors also constitute Chile, Cambodia, Laos, the Turks & Caicos Islands in the Caribbean and the UAE including Dubai. Most of them being great picks for quarantine-free holiday destinations.

Are there other travel restrictions in visiting these countries added to the list of UK travel corridors?

Except for Iceland, none of the other countries added to the list of UK travel corridors have any travel restrictions.

Although Iceland is also among the newly added travel corridors, the head of Visit Iceland, Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir, had recommended the visitors to choose between a “14-day quarantine or a double testing procedure with quarantine for four to five days.” She had recommended this to all travellers “before they can embark on their adventure around in Iceland.”

The head of Visit Iceland has also added that “Our commitment is to ensure travellers stay safe during their visit.”

Are these the only countries added to the list of UK Travel Corridors?

Apart from these countries, the Canary Islands, Bahrain, Qatar, and Gibraltar are also on the travel corridor list.

Were any countries removed from the list of UK Travel Corridors?

Along with the good news that some of the best tourist countries have become quarantine-free destinations, Transport secretary Grant Shapps also mentioned that Greece, except Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Kos is removed from the list of UK Travel Corridors. He mentioned this update in his tweet and added that “From 4 am Saturday 14^th of November if you arrive into the UK from this destination you will need to self-isolate.”

Meanwhile, the Britons cannot travel to Denmark for an additional 14 days following the outbreak of a coronavirus mutation in mink farms of Denmark. The government has also informed that Visitors from Denmark arriving in the UK from 4 am 7th November will be denied entry.

How often is the UK Travel Corridors list updated?

The UK Travel Corridors list is updated weekly, although nearly all travel in England is currently prohibited with certain exceptions.

Are the travel restrictions in England still intact since the lockdown?

The Britons are still advised not to travel unless for work, education or a small range of other “legally permitted” reasons. This restriction is intact from 5th November to 2nd December. Accordingly, all leisure travel, both domestic and international, is banned. 

The Foreign Office and DfT advice and guidance therefore only applies to returning travellers; it does not permit Brits to travel abroad on holiday suddenly.

The Foreign Office and DfT have also mentioned that those in breach of these rules may have to face penalties. The rate of penalty starts at “£200 rising to a maximum of £6,400.”

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Nuha Faye

When you can't find me travelling, you'll either find me buried in some fictional destination that I see in a book or one that I had created myself. That is pretty much about me, a brown girl who was born to read and write. So what inspired me to write about and for travelling? I'd say, Mark Twain, for his description of the voyages or Paulo Coelho for his pilgrimages, and the list would go on. But in reality, it is the fact that I was born in the hill-country! The wet roads, the fog, the greenery, and the never-ending supply of fresh coffee has always kept me introverted to observe the little things about the world, and these, you will find in all my writings. Oh, and I also bond well over movies, cats, and love cooking!