UK Edition
Families could be free to go on foreign holidays from July 4 under plans being drawn up by ministers.
Boris Johnson is expected to announce on June 29 that deals have been put in place for so-called air bridges with a “small number” of countries with low levels of coronavirus.
It would mean tourists being able to go on holiday without having to spend 14 days in quarantine when they return.
Foreign tourists would also be able to come to the UK without having to self-isolate on arrival.
Groups would be restricted to those living in the same household - which can now include one other person who lives alone - unless the Government relaxes rules on social distancing before then.
Tourists would have to abide by the rules on social distancing in the country they travel to, meaning that countries with similar restrictions to the UK are likely to be first in the queue.
Government sources said ministers wanted to set up the first air bridges to countries that are “most advantageous” to the UK economy, which are likely to include popular destinations such as France, Spain, Greece and Portugal.
Boris Johnson had been expected to discuss an air bridge to France when he met Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street yesterday, but Number 10 said the issue “didn’t come up” in their meeting.
It is understood to have been discussed between officials from the two countries instead.
One source said France was “high up” on the list of countries that will have air bridges, also referred to as travel corridors.
A Government source said: “The plan is to announce a small number of air bridges on June 29th, though it won’t come into force until July 4. Obviously it will depend on factors such as the scientific advice and the level of coronavirus infections at the time.
“The Foreign Office will also have to change its travel advice before then because that remains a block on people going abroad for holidays.”
The Foreign Office is currently advising against “all but essential international travel” making it all but impossible for holidaymakers to obtain travel insurance until the advice is changed.
Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, is less enthusiastic about air bridges than the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, who has been pushing for them for weeks.
Tory backbenchers have put huge pressure on Mr Johnson to scrap the quarantine policy, which applies to all travellers arriving in the UK apart from a small number of exemptions including hauliers and those arriving from Ireland.
In his meeting with Mr Macron Mr Johnson discussed the ongoing trade talks with the EU over a post-Brexit trade deal, and told the French President it “does not make sense” to have prolonged negotiations into the autumn.
They also discussed the conflict in Libya, the Middle East peace process and the proposed Chinese national security law in Hong Kong, which would be a breach of the joint declaration on Hong Kong’s future signed by Britain and China before the handover of the former colony in 1997.