The comments from Airlines UK and Manchester Airports Group (MAG) follow the latest traffic light system update on Thursday (26 August), which saw Canada, Denmark and Switzerland among the seven destinations to move from amber to green and Thailand and Montenegro added to the red list.

Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade said families were having to "look over their shoulders for rule changes, and pay through the nose for tests". His comments come as pressure mounts on the government to address the "rip-off" PCR travel testing market.

"This cycle needs to change," said Alderslade. "Despite nearly 80% of over-16s being fully vaccinated, the UK remains an outlier, with only a small number of green destinations making international travel from the UK more expensive, burdensome and uncertain compared to our neighbours, despite most travel abroad being no riskier than our unrestricted travel within the UK.
 
"As has already happened across Europe, it’s time for a more proportionate system where tests are dropped for the fully vaccinated and from destinations where Covid risks are low, with tougher measures targeted at a small number of high risk countries."

Charlie Cornish, chief executive of MAG, said the sector couldn’t afford for the government to wait until October to review the regime and must make changes immediately; the third and final "checkpoint" review of the system is scheduled for 1 October.

Cornish said the government must "press ahead with an overhaul of its traffic light system immediately".

“We must arrive at a simpler, more affordable and sustainable travel framework to enable the best possible winter season and give customers the confidence to book ahead for 2022," he said.

Although Cornish welcomed the "positive impact" created by the increase in travel options for holidaymakers this summer, the changes would make "little difference" to the overall recovery of the UK travel industry, which he said was already recovering "at less than half the pace of the rest of Europe".
 
“Europe’s stronger recovery has been driven by the removal of testing requirements on vaccinated travellers," said Cornish.
 
“Unless the UK also removes the need for people with full immunity to take these tests, we will continue to squander the advantage our world-leading vaccination programme was supposed to deliver, while passengers on the continent travel restriction-free to low-risk destinations."

WTTC president and chief executive Julia Simpson said the system was now "widely discredited".

"It puts the UK at a disadvantage and is squandering the vaccine dividend," she said. “This is the 51st change. Holidaymakers are confused and frustrated. The UK government is seriously damaging the travel and tourism sector, which in turn supports thousands of businesses and jobs.

“The UK government appears to have no exit plan. The Global Travel Taskforce, set up to oversee these haphazard travel restrictions, must set out a clear strategy to recover normal travel.

“Nowhere should be off limits to anyone in the UK who is fully vaccinated, except in exceptional circumstances.”

’Disappointing’

Pilots union Balpa was also critical of the latest traffic light update from government, accusing ministers of throwing highly skilled aviation workers "under the bus".

“This is another highly disappointing update," said acting general secretary Martin Chalk. "Aviation has lost a second summer to Covid and unless the government changes approach, it will not properly recover until at least next year.

“Despite being pivotal to the UK’s economic recovery, the fact that the furlough scheme is still set to end in just a few weeks shows that the government is throwing aviation and all the high skilled workers in it under the bus.

“The point of the furlough scheme – to protect otherwise viable industries while government restrictions prevented business as usual – still blatantly applies to aviation. Balpa continues to call for a sector specific extension to furlough.

"The government continues to keep aviation locked down, while the rest of Europe recovers much faster than the UK."