Quarantine: Grant Shapps admits ‘confusion’ over tangle of regulations amid travel industry fury

‘This public policy lottery is creating chaos and seriously undermines the government’s credibility in the eyes of the public,’ said Gloria Guevara of the WTTC

Danger zone?: Funchal in Madeira is a quarantine location for Scottish travellers, but not for the rest of the UK (Simon Calder)

As holidaymakers and the travel industry try to make sense of the increasing baffling quarantine regulations, the transport secretary has conceded that the rules are “confusing”.

The regular Thursday evening announcement of changes to the quarantine regime showed that the system is fragmenting.

Wales announced an almost instant requirement for self-isolation for holidaymakers returning from mainland Portugal and six Greek islands: Antiparos, Crete, Lesbos, Mykonos, Paros and Zante (also known as Zakynthos).

Scotland requires quarantine for arrivals from anywhere in Portugal, including Madeira and the Azores, from 4am on Saturday.

England and Northern Ireland made no changes to their current lists.

Grant Shapps told Sky News: “I do realise it creates confusion for people not to have a single rule, but we do have this devolved approach throughout the United Kingdom and I can only be responsible for the English part of that.”

The transport secretary said that while the main measure of new infections for Portugal was high, the positivity rate – the proportion of tests showing coronavirus – was declining.

On BBC Radio’s Today programme, he accused the Scottish government of “jumping the gun”.

“It would be far better to coordinate.”

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is among the industry bodies to respond with fury. The president and chief executive, Gloria Guevara, said: “WTTC shares the bewilderment of British holidaymakers at the absurd spectacle of completely different quarantine rules in England, Scotland and Wales for those now returning back from Greece.

“This public policy lottery is creating chaos. It shows confusion, mistrust and further seriously undermines the government’s credibility in the eyes of the public.

“We urgently need to restore the confidence to travel, not create more uncertainty.”

Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh airport, has written an open letter to the Scottish justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, describing the quarantine policy as “a travel ban in all but name”.

He wrote: “It is ineffective and unworkable as your own figures show and it is having a damning impact on a range of industries.

“If this is the path the Scottish government is to continue down then there are some incredibly dark days ahead.”

Tim Jeans, former managing director of Monarch, told LBC Radio: “This is exactly the wrong thing to be doing. We’ll see the end of summer.

“People will be looking at this and wondering whether to book a holiday, and probably now thinking, ‘No, we’ll hold off for the moment’.

“The industry is almost dying on its feet at the moment.”

Welsh passengers arriving on the TAP Portugal flight from Lisbon to Heathrow airport, shortly before 11pm this evening, will need to go directly home and self-isolate for 14 days.

English and Northern Irish travellers face no restrictions.

Scottish residents will have barely five hours to get across the border to Gretna in order to avoid two weeks of quarantine.