VSbulletin COVID-19 HM Government announcement of Green and Amber lists for 17 May restart

• 10 May 2021
• News
• Virgin Atlantic

The UK Government has now confirmed the important step that non-essential international travel can resume from 17 May, allocating countries either a ‘Green’, ‘Amber’ or ‘Red’ status according to a risk-based traffic light system. The full details of the requirements for travellers returning to England from these destinations can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england. These country lists will be kept under regular review.  

Please note, this system applies to arrivals to England. Travellers must continue to check the requirements they need to comply with for other origin or destination countries before you travel. The latest UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) foreign travel advice can be found here.   

For ‘Green’ countries travellers will need to take a pre-departure antigen test before returning to England, but do not need to self-isolate upon arrival, instead taking a PCR test on or before day 2 in England. For ‘Amber’ countries travellers will need to take two PCR tests, on day 2 and 8 of their 10-day quarantine at home, but they may be able to end self-isolation early through the ‘Test to Release’ scheme, if they take a PCR test on day 5. 

To make booking their trip as convenient as possible, travellers can find details of recommended Covid-19 test providers here and we continue to work with partners to ensure pricing remains as competitive as possible.  

From 17 May, the following countries served by Virgin Atlantic Airways have been allocated:  

Green: Israel (will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May) 

Amber: Antigua, Barbados, China, Cuba, Grenada, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, St Vincent and the Grenadines  

Remaining on the Red list: India, Pakistan, South Africa  

Following the publication of the initial ‘Green’ and ‘Amber’ country lists, we’re ready to welcome customers back to some of their favourite destinations, ensuring all our customers fly safe and well. To ensure they can book with confidence we have a flexible booking policy so that if things change, we’ve got our customers covered. We do understand that the Covid-19 situation remains dynamic and ongoing restrictions may pose difficulties to our customers with upcoming travel plans. If they are unable to travel for any reason, we offer as much choice and flexibility as possible to help our customers amend their plans.  


Fly safe, fly well