EU countries should adopt a “standardised” vaccination certificate in order to boost travel, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a letter to European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
"Persons who have been vaccinated should be free to travel," Mr Mitsotakis wrote in the letter released by his office on Tuesday.
"It is urgent to adopt a common understanding on how a vaccination certificate should be structured so as to be accepted in all member states," he said, calling for a "standardised certificate, which will prove that a person has been successfully vaccinated".
Following the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK would be excluded from any EU decision on vaccination certificates.
The implementation of such certificates has raised privacy concerns, while Gloria Guevara, president and chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council, said that travellers who are not vaccinated should not be discriminated against.
However, in October, Estonia signed an agreement with the World Health Organisation to develop a digital immunisation certificate that would enable cross-border exchange of vaccination information. Meanwhile, Denmark’s health ministry announced last week that it is developing a "vaccine passport" for people who have received the jab.
Scroll down for the latest travel updates.
05:01 PM
Today's main headlines
Dubai travel corridor removed
Adopt EU-wide vaccine certificate, says Greek PM
Jet2 suspends flights and holidays until late March
British skiers identified as Covid cluster in Austria
Ryanair boss says summer holidays will happen this year
Airlines UK: Testing for travellers must end before summer
Catch-up with the rest below and please do join us again tomorrow.
04:55 PM
Epic tales from the Heroic Age of Exploration
Perfect for a little evening reading, Chris Moss remembers the endeavours and eccentricities of early 20th-century explorers.
Shackleton and two members of his expedition team beside a Union Jack within 111 miles of the South Pole in 1909 - Getty
They include:
The food: dogs, biscuits and stewed penguin breast
On Christmas Day 1902, during the Discovery expedition, Shackleton delighted his frostbitten tent-fellows when, hundreds of miles from base camp, he produced a Christmas pudding that had been “stowed away in my socks (clean ones) in my sleeping bag, with a little piece of holly.”
Such treats were for special occasions only. Standard rations out on the ice consisted of pemmican (ground meat mixed with fat) and biscuits baked by the expedition’s sponsors. The men took turns preparing hoosh, a stew made by mixing pemmican and biscuits, adding arrowroot and raisins to liven it up a little. Australian explorer Douglas Mawson added strips of sled dog’s meat to pemmican during the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition ...
Spain has extended a ban on people entering from the UK by air or sea due to concerns over the new UK variant, AFP reports.
The entry restriction, which does not apply to Spanish nationals and those with legal residency in Spain, will remain in effect until February 2, the Spanish Government said in a statement. Spain imposed the entry restrictions on December 22 following the discovery in Britain of a new variant of the virus that is thought to be more contagious.
The restriction, initially put in place for two weeks, was already renewed once for a similar period.
04:37 PM
How rail holidays will change in 2021
"I hope this will be the year when more people discover – as I have – the joy of the journey", writes Mark Smith (AKA the Man in Seat 61).
'I think we will see an awful lot of pent-up demand for travel from people who just want to get out and do some travelling' - Getty
04:17 PM
The travel websites that fell out of favour in 2020
In the UK online searches for “2020 holiday” saw a decrease of 87 per cent in the last 12 months, with its highest point in January 2020, according to business advice website The UK Domain. Its research also claims that:
Skyscanner fell out of the top 100 of 2020
Booking.com and Tripadvisor saw traffic decline over 20 per cent
Trainline and TfL also dropped out of the top 100
04:11 PM
Greece marks 200 years of freedom in the midst of a national lockdown
There are vague predictions that tourism to Greece will start again in early summer, writes Heidi Fuller-Love.
Blue-domed churches in Oia, Santorini - Getty
In 2021 Greece celebrates 200 years of independence, but for many Greeks the irony of celebrating the country’s freedom whilst in the confines of a hard lockdown is a bitter pill to swallow, especially with TV channels constantly broadcasting the mantra of Bouboulina, Kolokotronis and other fighters for liberty: "One hour of freedom is worth more than 40 years of slavery and prison.”
Greece’s heroic rebellion against 400 years of Ottoman rule originated with members of the Odessa-based Greek revolutionary secret society the Philikí Etaireía, or Friendly Brotherhood, but it was the church that fed and fostered the country’s most popular uprising. The blue-domed churches that feature on every Greek postcard aren’t just pretty backdrops for feta cheese ads, they were actually painted in the colours of the Greek flag as a symbol of resistance and a sign of hope.
Holidays might be banned, but these pictures offer a snapshot of life in other countries right now.
snow in belagua valley spain - AP new york city - Getty Empty Clifton beaches, closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, in Cape Town, South Africa - Bloomberg People take a ski lift in the Mountains of Bjelasnica near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Shutterstock
03:39 PM
Cancellation is better than crisis: ski operator to call off this season
Ski holiday bookings are booming for next winter, but operators are being forced to throw in the towel this season, reports Lucy Aspden.
Last week British-run ski chalet operator Le Ski announced it has cancelled all remaining ski holidays this winter, in a move unlike any other in its 38-year history.
The news came as England entered its third national lockdown and the planned reopening of French ski resorts was postponed – these are just two of the “many obstacles” standing in the way of ski tour operators this season as Covid-19 turns catered chalet holiday business “on its head.”
After being left with “no option but to be decisive,” the operator, which runs catered chalet holidays to Courchevel, Val d’Isère and La Tania in France, is now focussing all efforts on next winter, with the majority of its guests choosing to transfer their bookings to secure their space on the slopes in 2021/22.
Jet2 suspends flights and holidays until late March
"We have taken the decision to extend the suspension of flights and holidays up to and including March 25 2021," said the airline and tour operator.
In a statement, it said the move was in response to ongoing travel restrictions, adding:
Where customers yet to travel are affected by any programme changes, our approach to providing smooth and speedy refunds has been widely praised, and we will be automatically cancelling affected bookings with a full refund. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have always respected that customers should receive their money back if we have not provided their flight or holiday. We know that customers will remember this approach, and the way we have looked after them will play an important part in our long-term strategy to continue to grow successfully and become the UK’s Leading and Best Leisure Travel business.
There is a lot of demand for our award-winning flights and holidays and with a huge choice of popular destinations available from across our network of ten UK bases, customers can take advantage of some fantastic deals for Summer 21, Winter 21/22 and Summer 22. Our customers work hard and save hard for their holidays, and we are very excited to take them away on holiday again. For customers due to travel from 26 th March onwards, we will provide further updates closer to the time as appropriate. We would like to thank our valued customers for their patience and understanding.
03:20 PM
'Influencers' in Dubai face quarantine – but are they breaking the law?
Celebrities and social media 'influencers' who are still in Dubai will face up to 10 days of quarantine on their return, since the UAE was added to the UK's quarantine list.
But why exactly can celebrities still travel, anyway? Lizzie Frainier explains the plausible reasons.
03:14 PM
Couple in Canada fined for 'walking the dog'
A couple Canada have been fined for defying Covid curfew rules when a woman was caught "walking" her husband on a lead according to local media.
She reportedly told police that she was just out "walking her dog" close to their home in the city of Sherbrooke, in Quebec.
02:57 PM
British skiers identified as Covid cluster in Austria
Austria has identified a new cluster of 17 Covid-19 cases, a mainly British group on a ski teacher training course, despite the country being on lockdown and having banned flights from Britain over fears of a new coronavirus variant.
The Alpine province of Tyrol, which suffered Austria's worst outbreak to date at the ski resort of Ischgl, said the cluster in the town of Jochberg was suspected to be of the new, more infectious variant first pinpointed in the UK in September that has spread to dozens of countries including Austria.
The fact such a training course was allowed to happen despite lockdown restrictions, which include closing schools to all but daycare, stunned many Austrians.
"These were people of various nationalities - mainly British citizens," Tyrol's provincial government said in a statement, offering all of Jochberg's roughly 1,500 residents a free coronavirus test. "The last of them arrived in Tyrol on Dec. 18. They travelled by land and air."
The new quarantine requirement took effect on December 19. Flights from Britain were banned on December 22.
02:48 PM
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express revisits the Grand Tour
Adrian Bridge reports that, in a fresh take on the traditional Grand Tour, the luxury train operator behind the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, Belmond, has announced a range of new routes for this spring and summer.
rome - Getty
Alongside its signature Venice-Paris-London routing, the legendary train will be taking in destinations such as Rome and Florence, key stopping points in the European tours popular with young aristocrats in the 17th and 18th centuries. Other variants involve a journey between Paris and Venice, including a run along the Brenner Pass and stops in Geneva and Innsbruck, and a longer jaunt from Venice to Amsterdam, including stops in Paris and Brussels.
Explaining the changes, Gary Franklin, Belmond’s Vice President, Trains & Cruises, said: “During 2020, while the train was unable to operate, we identified some exciting new routes, offering an increased number of ways to see Europe whether for a long weekend or as part of an extended European tour.”
The new journeys will follow what the company hopes will be an earlier return of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express on the classic London-Venice routing in late April/early May. For those really wanting to emulate the travelling style of the Grand Tour pioneers, the train will this year also be adding three new Grand Suites involving double beds, a lounge with space for private dining and private bathroom. The suites are named after three of the classic destinations of the original train – Vienna, Budapest and Prague.
The new routes will be operated on selected dates from May to July. For prices and to book, see belmond.com/trains
02:41 PM
What's the Global Health Insurance Card, and how does it differ to the EHIC?
The Government has now formally launched the Global Health Insurance Card.
Britons in Dubai forced to quarantine after travel corridor removed
Travellers returning to Britain from Dubai will be required to self-isolate for 10 days, as of 4am today.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced, via Twitter, on Monday night that the UAE would be removed from the travel corridor list at short notice. It is understood that there had been “a significant acceleration” in Covid cases imported from Dubai.
The changes apply to those arriving in England, Northern Ireland, Wales – and Scotland, which had already announced quarantine measures for those travelling from the UAE.
Mr Shapps pointed out that current national “restrictions do not permit international travel other than for specific reasons.” However, the change will affect those who had travelled to Dubai before the national lockdown, those on business, as well as expats wishing to return to Britain.
Anyone arriving from the UAE after 4am today will be required to self-isolate for 10 days, although this can be reduced to five days with a negative Covid test. Meanwhile, all travellers will be required to produce a negative coronavirus test result to enter the UK from Friday.
02:12 PM
Queen's Gambit-inspired hotel room opens in the USA with chess pieces hanging from the ceiling
Fans of the Netflix series will love the mid-century modern design and spot-on chess paraphernalia, writes Lizzie Frainier.
The Harmon Room is kitted out with a drinks trolley, handmade chess set and themed tote bags
Lexington, Kentucky may be best known for its horse racing credentials, but since October last year it’s had a new kind of allure thanks to one of the key locations in Netflix’s hit show The Queen’s Gambit.
Sixty-two million households have since binged the seven-part miniseries, based on the book of the same name by local author Walter Tevis, which follows the rise of chess prodigy and orphan Beth Harmon, who is later adopted by a family in Lexington.
The popularity of the series immediately translated into a surge in interest in chess sets (eBay reported a 273 per cent increase in searches in the 10 days following its release); and now the 21c Museum Hotel in protagonist Harmon’s hometown is hoping to capitalise on that trend with a room in her honour. A chess-themed time capsule of Fifties and Sixties America, if you will.
Paris to turn Champs-Élysées into an 'extraordinary garden’
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has given the go ahead to ambitious plans to turn the famous avenue into a tree-lined park of sorts.
The new design includes dedicated green spaces, children’s play areas and wide pavements with ample room for terrace cafés.
The Champs-Élysées is popular with tourists, partly due to its high-end boutiques, but in recent years Parisians have complained that it has become traffic-clogged.
The €250m (£225m) transformation will not get going until after the 2024 Paris Olympics and won’t be completed until 2030.
Plans are also afoot to create more green space in the area surrounding the Eiffel Tower, complete with ponds and fountains.
01:40 PM
Barbados could lose travel corridor as Covid cases rise
Celebrities have flocked to Barbados this winter - Richard Semik
Barbados, one of the few destinations still welcoming Britons, faces removal from the UK’s quarantine-free travel corridor list after a sharp rise in Covid cases.
The island’s seven-day infection rate, which before Christmas was just 3.8 per 100,000 residents, now stands at 96.9. The Government sometimes takes action when a country crosses the 100 mark, as seen last night with the decision to remove the United Arab Emirates at short notice, but much will depend on other factors, such as instances of imported cases and its verdict on the reliability of testing in Barbados.
While holidays for Britons are currently banned, any changes would affect those who flew to the island before the latest lockdown, as well as those planning a post-lockdown break.
Missing cat found at New York airport after 11 days
In cheering news from the US, a cat who went missing at LaGuardia Airport has been rescued.
Six-year-old Muji jumped out of her owner’s arms after being removed from her basket to go through airport security and ended up in the ceiling, where she was eventually found. Remarkably, while Muji was said to be “shell-shocked” by the ordeal, she was physically unharmed.
In a Facebook post, Muji’s owner Taylor Le, who was travelling due to moving house, warned others flying with animals to be prepared for security screening protocols.
She wrote: “Many people (including myself) do not know we need to take our pets out of their carrier to go through the screening process at airports.”
Ryanair boss says summer holidays will happen this year
Michael O’Leary, the budget airline’s CEO, believes summer holidays abroad will go ahead in 2021, due to widespread vaccination programmes across Europe.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr O'Leary said: "We are taking significant bookings from people booking holidays this summer.”
He suggested that spring was too early to expect holidays abroad, but was confident of a return by July, adding: "Certainly by the summer, by the time we get to the school holidays, we'll see few restrictions across Europe because of the roll-out of these vaccines."
12:49 PM
Carnival ready to resume cruises, but can't provide start date
Carnival Corporation is ready to restart cruise operations but remains unable to announce a start date for most markets.
Despite this, Carnival Corporation chief executive Arnold Donald promised “great days of growth whether we start in April or June or whenever”.
Carnival lines Costa Cruises in Italy and Aida Cruises in Germany resumed some sailings last summer. However, the cruise operator reported a net loss of $2.2 billion for the three months to November.
Mr Donald said: "We hope to have all our ships operating by the end of 2021, but we’re still navigating through this thing.
"We are working towards resuming operations in the US, Asia, the UK and other markets. We intend to resume operations with a limited fleet and lower occupancy levels. But our aim is to have our whole fleet back operating by the end of this year.”
12:42 PM
‘You can’t go wrong with pink and green’: inside Luke Edward Hall's retina-pulling Parisian hotel
The young British interior designer has transformed a tired French hotel into something to talk about, writes Rooksana Hossenally.
Hotel Les Deux Gares, Paris
Formerly, it was the run-down Hotel Kuntz, which I remember had stained burgundy carpets, curtains imbued with cigarette smoke and mahogany furniture that lost its veneer a decade ago when the Kuntz family sold up.
However, neither the state of the building, the incongruous neighbourhood, nor the global pandemic marred one hotelier’s vision. Adrien Gloaguen, who already has three Parisian hotels under his Touriste brand, has opened a fourth: Les Deux Gares, meaning “The Two Stations” in French, is named for its location between Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord (it is also the street name).
He brought on British designer Luke Edward Hall for the interiors. Trained as a menswear designer at Central St Martins, the 31-year old has collaborated with Burberry and Liberty, has a long list of residential projects and has his own line of ceramics (including for hotels, such as Le Sirenuse in Positano).
Stepping over the threshold is like walking on to the set of a British-meets-Gallic version of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. One could call it an audacious 1960s/70s take on art deco, with a retina-pulling palette of electric green, mustard yellow and dusky pink.
Turkish Airlines launches sale with up to 40 per cent off flights
Travel may be on hold for now, but many are planning ahead for summer trips. An offer from Turkish Airlines might entice those who'd like to book in something to look forward to.
The sale runs from January 13– 15, with 40 per cent discounts on flights between April 1 – December 31, 2021.
12:13 PM
Virgin Atlantic crew to help administer vaccine
Virgin Atlantic staff will support the NHS in the coming months in the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Cabin crew, pilots, ground and office-based teams will take on voluntary and paid roles with the NHS and St John’s Ambulance service at NHS mass vaccination centres.
Many Virgin Atlantic employees, including people with medical training, have been furloughed and giving their time to help the NHS.
The airline's staff will be training in a range of skills, including administering the vaccine.
12:06 PM
Taiwan reports locally transmitted cases
Taiwan has reported its first locally transmitted cases of Covid since December 22.
A doctor who was treating an infected patient in hospital caught the virus along with a nurse, who was the doctors girlfriend.
Until December's domestic transmission, the island had not reported any local cases for around eight months, with most infections coming to Taiwan from overseas.
Taiwan has been one of the most successful places in the world in dealing with Covid-19. It has reported just 839 cases.
11:55 AM
Sunrise in Scarborough
Keen travellers may well be seeking beauty in the local during lockdown. The sunrise breaking over Scarborough Castle in Yorkshire this morning didn't disappoint.
Scarborough Castle in Yorkshire - PA Scarborough castle - PA
11:49 AM
Divers recover 'black box' from crashed Indonesia plane
Indonesian navy divers searching the ocean floor on Tuesday recovered the flight data recorder from a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea with 62 people on board.
The device is expected to help investigators determine what caused the Boeing 737-500 plane to nosedive into the ocean in heavy rain shortly after taking off from Jakarta on Saturday.
TV stations showed divers on an inflatable vessel with a large white container containing the device heading to a Jakarta port.
Military chief Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said the plane's other "black box," the cockpit voice recorder, was likely to be found soon because its beacon was being emitted in the same area.
The devices were buried in seabed mud under tons of sharp objects in the plane's wreckage, navy Chief Adm. Yudo Margono said. He said at least 160 divers were deployed Tuesday in the search.
11:42 AM
Two gorillas test positive for Covid at San Diego Zoo
Two captive gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for Covid-19 after falling ill, and a third gorilla appears also to be symptomatic, California's governor said on Monday.
The cases are believed to be the first known cases among such primates in the world.
The park's executive director, Lisa Peterson, told the Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas that live together at the park are believed to have the virus and several have been coughing.
It appears the infection came from a member of the park's wildlife care team who also tested positive for the virus but has been asymptomatic and wore a mask at all times around the gorillas. The park has been closed to the public since December 6 as part of California's lockdown.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has told lawmakers in her conservative party that she expects a lockdown in Germany to curb the spread of the coronavirus to last until the start of April, Bild daily cited participants at a meeting as saying.
“If we don’t manage to stop this British virus, then we will have 10 times the number of cases by Easter. We need eight to 10 more weeks of tough measures,” Bild quoted Merkel as saying.
Three participants of the meeting told Reuters that Merkel had not explicitly spoken of an extension of the lockdown until April and that she had not warned of a tenfold increase in infection numbers in Germany.
11:25 AM
'Why is the UK cutting off Dubai? It should be the other way around!'
Though sun-seeking Britons will lament the loss of the UAE's travel corridor, the new legislation will likely prove more problematic for its expats.
A boat at the Ras El-Khor wildlife sanctuary near the old quarter of Dubai - Getty
Here, one anonymous Dubai-based expat – originally from Cambridge – explains why:
According to local media, we let thousands of Britons into the UAE over Christmas – and now the new virus variant is everywhere. Am I surprised?
Yes, actually: we have what we thought was quite a robust testing policy at our borders. I wonder, now, how many cases managed to slip through the net. But it's ridiculous that the UK Government is making such a big deal about cutting off Dubai now: it should be the other way around. We all know where the infections have been imported from!
The festive season over here was quite subdued, really: British expats are quite reluctant to fly home to the UK to see their family, though some of them managed to fly their family out. Christmas wasn't as busy and fun as it usually is, and we're still living under some Covid restrictions. I'm sure that people will still try to travel between the UK and UAE as often as they can – though they'll probably be less vocal about it on social media now.
Personally, I've no plans to travel back to see my family in Cambridge – though if I have to make an emergency journey, it would be awful if all flights were cancelled now. That's the thing about being an expat: it's great until something goes wrong, or you have to rush home. Nobody wants to be 5,000 miles from their family.
11:17 AM
Older Britons will be 'among the first' to travel again, says Saga boss
Saga customers will be "among the first" to start travelling again with older holidaymakers “hungry to travel”, according to the chief executive of Saga Holidays, Chris Simmonds.
“Older customers were the first hit but they will be the first to get the vaccinations; there is a sense of optimism,” said Mr Simmonds as the over-50s travel specialist unveiled its 2021-22 brochures.
“They will be the first to travel," he added.
Mr Simmonds said UK and Ireland bookings are doing well, reports travel trade publication Travel Weekly, while long-haul holidays are looking strong for 2022.
11:09 AM
Russia extends UK travel ban
Russia has extended its ban on flights to and from the UK until at least February, after Moscow reported its first case of the new British variant of coronavirus, writes Theo Merz in Moscow.
Russia closed its borders to all but essential travel at the outbreak of the pandemic last year but reopened to a handful of countries, including the UK, in the summer.
This week Anna Popova, the head of the country’s health watchdog, said a Russian citizen had tested positive for the new strain after returning from a trip to the UK.
Russia’s Federal Coronavirus Control Headquarters said it would extend the flight ban, which was brought in at the end of December, “to protect public health”.
Egypt reopened its airspace to Qatar flights today after Saudi Arabia reopened its airspace and border with the Gulf Arab state last week, Egyptian airport officials said.
A Qatar Airways plane is due to land in Cairo on Friday, the officials told the Associated Press.
It will mark the first commercial flight between the two countries since Egypt joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in a boycott of Qatar in 2017.
The four boycotting countries signed a declaration with Qatar at an annual summit last week to end the dispute. The UAE and Bahrain have also opened their airspace to Qatar.
11:00 AM
What are your options for a post-lockdown holiday?
If you are itching to book something right now, these are your best options, writes Greg Dickinson.
iceland - Getty
For a European escape your best bets are Iceland, Madeira and Gibraltar, further afield the Maldives are still an option (when travel restrictions lift).
New testing rules expected to be in place 'until end of current lockdown'
The Department for Transport has said the new measures for travellers to the UK "are likely to be in place until the end of the current lockdown, although a review will take place before the end of that period," according to its latest statement.
10:43 AM
China puts 5 million more under lockdown
Chinese authorities sealed off a city of almost five million people and imposed strict travel restrictions on several others on Tuesday as they worked to quash a number of Covid-19 clusters near Beijing, reports AFP.
The country had largely curbed the spread of the virus, with small outbreaks swiftly stamped out out using mass testing, local lockdowns and travel restrictions.
But Hebei province in northern China has reported 560 new cases in recent weeks, 234 of which are asymptomatic, sparking a raft of new lockdowns and restrictions.
Residents of Langfang, a manufacturing hub around 55 kilometres south of Beijing, have been banned from leaving the city for seven days unless absolutely necessary.
"All family gatherings should be cancelled...all marriages postponed and funerals simplified until the epidemic situation has subsided," the Langfang city government said in a statement. Officials will now rush to test all 4.9 million residents in two days, the local health bureau said, after one case was discovered in Langfang's Gu'an county.
Responding to the official launch of the new Global Health Insurance Card, Chris King, head of travel insurance at comparethemarket.com, said the scheme is "a positive and valuable continuation of rights to emergency medical healthcare for UK residents’ when travelling to the EU." However, he added:
If normal travel resumes later this year, it remains strongly advised to take out travel insurance before going to Europe or further afield to make sure you are covered for any medical treatment, since this can be extremely costly. As well as medical cover, travel insurance can cover lost or damaged luggage and some delays or cancellations.
10:35 AM
Seychelles aims to save tourism sector by becoming first nation to vaccinate entire population
Seychelles’ president Wavel Ramkalawan has said the tourism-reliant Indian Ocean archipelago will have vaccinated three-quarters of its 95,000 citizens against Covid-19 by March, reports Tim Ecott.
seychelles - Getty
The president told The Telegraph that he hoped to be the first nation in Africa to do so, and possibly the world. “We have kept our borders mostly open,” he said, “but we want to reignite tourism as soon as possible. It’s vital to our survival.”
The ambitious public health initiative has been made possible by a donation of 50,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, gifted to Seychelles by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. And by February, India has pledged to provide Seychelles with 100,000 doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine.
To encourage the islanders to comply with the programme the president rolled up his left shirt sleeve live on national television and received the first vaccine. He was joined by most of his cabinet as well as his political rival, the ousted president Danny Faure, whom Ramkalawan defeated in last October’s elections.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the country's land borders will be closed to most travellers until February 14, in an bid to slow the spread of Covid-19.
President Ramaphosa said the pandemic in South Africa is currently at its most devastating, with infection numbers far above the peak experienced in the first wave.
Many restrictions that come into force at the end of December will be extended. The ban on alcohol sales remains in places, beaches and parks in hotpots remain shut, and social gatherings are still banned.
10:24 AM
Gov. yet to confirm types of Covid tests accepted for UK entry
Travellers will be required to provide evidence of a negative Covid test in order to enter the UK from Friday.
However, the Government is yet to officially confirm which types of tests will be acceptable. The Department for Transport told Telegraph Travel that an update would be provided later today. However, part of a statement from Robert Courts, a minister for transport, reads:
We will establish the standards that tests must meet in regulations. This will include that the test must be of a diagnostic-standard test such as a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, and could in some cases include LAMP and Lateral Flow tests within set limits. We will provide clear guidance and advice to passengers regarding testing standards and capacity.
10:17 AM
The sad demise of the school trip, a rite of passage for millions
The school trip affords an early encounter with the world out there – its wonders, worries and scope for skulduggery, writes Anthony Peregrine.
"It’s a halfway house, without parents but nevertheless accompanied" - Getty
Among victims of Covid – a minor victim but a victim all the same – is the school trip. As a sports teacher acquaintance of mine said: “It’s depriving many kids of their only opportunity to see something other than their homes and schools.”
Spot on. Lord knows, when teens, we could all use a break from home and school. The school trip affords an early encounter with the world out there – its wonders, worries and scope for skulduggery. It’s a halfway house, without parents but nevertheless accompanied. Though the accompaniment may be erratic. An A-level teacher recalls getting so fed up with kids sneaking out of the hostel at night that she took to sleeping in the corridor to keep an eye on them. This wasn’t as successful as anticipated. “They waited until I dozed off, then stepped over me,” she said.
Which is, though, another positive element of the school-trip – the revelation that teachers might not simply be adults who blight one’s life with irregular German verbs or trigonometry before repairing to some hellish teacher cave somewhere. On a school trip, they may give every indication of being human. These trips are, then, both rites of passage and discovery experiences in real-world conditions.
'Welcome to Brexit' official tells British driver as he confiscates ham sandwich
Border officials in the Netherlands have confiscated ham sandwiches and other food items from UK travellers due to post-Brexit rules.
Dutch TV network NPO filmed customs patrols explaining to arrivals that they cannot take meat or dairy products into the EU.
One driver who arrived by ferry at the Hook of Holland sea port was left bemused after being told he would lose his ham sandwiches. The man asked whether he can "take off the meat and you leave me the bread?"
But a border guard responded: "No, everything will be confiscated. Welcome to the Brexit, sir. I'm sorry."
09:59 AM
Mandatory vaccination for international travel is 'discriminatory,' says WTTC
Australian airline Qantas was singled out by the World Travel and Tourism Council for a 'discriminatory' requirement for a Covid-19 vaccination for international travel
Qantas chief Alan Joyce has said a Covid jab would likely be a requirement for all international travellers.
The WTTC disagrees with this approach.
"We should never require the vaccination to get a job or to travel," said WTTC Chief Executive Gloria Guevara, when addressing the Reuters Next conference.
"I totally disagree with the approach from Qantas. If you require the vaccination before travel, that takes us to discrimination," she added.
09:48 AM
'I've given up on getting home': What it's like to be a Briton abroad right now
While most of us are stuck at home, some Britons are stranded overseas – with no idea when they'll be able to return. Lottie Gross spoke to UK travellers who are stuck abroad, including Rhiannon Thatcher, who's in New Zealand:
Rhiannon Thatcher with a friend in New Zealand
A few months ago I gave up on getting home anytime soon. I came out to New Zealand on a working holiday visa in August 2019 and planned to stay until Christmas 2020, but when Covid came along it made it almost impossible to get out.
Before Christmas, I was looking at flights constantly and often they were disappearing before I could book because rules about layovers kept changing and flights were being taken offline. My passport had run out and my visa was about to expire, and the flights were so expensive I couldn’t really afford to fly home.
Black box search ongoing as Indonesia jet wreckage found
Indonesian investigators continued their search for the black boxes of the doomed Sriwijaya Air passenger jet, a Boeing 737-500 that fell into the Java Sea on Saturday with 62 people on board, reports Bloomberg.
The aircraft, which had capacity for about 120 passengers, was on its fifth flight of the day when it crashed shortly after it took off at 2:36pm local time, according to aviation website FlightRadar24. It flew several short hops in the days leading up to the crash, including nine flights on Dec. 31 and eight on Jan. 4. All six flights on Jan. 7 were delayed by at least an hour.
Based on an assessment of the plane’s turbine discs and fan blades, the engines may still have been running when the Boeing hit the water, National Transportation Safety Commission Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said in a statement Tuesday.
The black boxes will provide more information on what caused the plane to plunge more than 10,000 feet in a matter of seconds. Investigators have detected the pingers that are used to locate the flight recorders, which capture sound in the cockpit and monitor flight data.
09:20 AM
Influencers defend trips to Dubai
Social media influencers, celebrities and sports people have been criticised for travelling abroad over recent weeks as the UK faces surging Covid cases. Before the latest lockdown, large parts of the country were already in Tier 4 under which people where told not to travel overseas.
Dubai has been a holiday hotspot for reality TV stars of late, including former Love Island contestant Laura Anderson who has posted pictures of herself in the Emirate, which prompted backlash from social media users.
She wrote in the comments section of one Instagram post: "The reality for me coming here prior to lockdown just as an FYI was so I could still earn money because I ain’t a millionaire [...] I live alone in Glasgow with no family or friends close enough that are allowed to travel to me. So for my own mental health being in Dubai I can be around my family and friends that [s]till live here since I lived here for 8years prior to love island, I still call [the UAE] home."
James Lock, a cast member of the reality show The Only Way is Essex, is also among those posting Instagram pictures from Dubai.
Model Abbey Clancy deleted social media pictures from a Christmas trip to the Emirate with her husband Peter Crouch and their children after receiving criticism. Meanwhile, Celtic football team were criticised for travelling to a Dubai training camp. After their return from the UAE, Christopher Jullien tested positive for the virus forcing 13 of his team mates into isolation.
09:06 AM
Malaysia announces state of emergency
Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin has declared a nationwide state of emergency, which could last until August.
The government says this is to curb a rise in Covid-19 cases, but critics suggest the move is an attempt by the prime minister, who took office in March last year, to cling on to power.
Mr Yassin announced nationwide travel restrictions, as well as stricter measures in the capital and five states. In these places, people will only be permitted to leave their homes to buy groceries and must stay within 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) of where they live.
The state of emergency allows for suspension of parliament and political activities, such as local elections.
Lunar New Year lanterns decorations at a shop in Kuala Lumpur - Getty
08:55 AM
Holidaymakers should check they are covered by GHIC before travel, says Which?
Consumer group Which? said it welcomes the launch of the Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), but warned that holidaymakers should still secure travel insurance.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said:
[The launch] is good news for consumers after we warned holidaymakers in Europe could face eye-watering medical bills if a reciprocal healthcare agreement was not part of a Brexit deal.
We have seen and reported a number of unscrupulous copycat websites charging people to apply for free GHICs, so anyone looking to apply must remain vigilant and only use the official NHS website.
It is important to remember the GHIC covers fewer countries than the EHIC, so travellers should check they can use it before going abroad. We'd also advise holidaymakers to still buy travel insurance as soon as they book a holiday, so they are covered for other issues that may arise such as cancellations and lost luggage.
08:50 AM
UK launches Global Health Insurance Card
The Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) was officially launched on Monday, meaning UK residents can now apply for the card.
UK residents’ rights to emergency and medically necessary healthcare will continue when travelling in the EU. This includes medically necessary treatment for a pre-existing or chronic condition.
European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) remain valid as long as they are in date and people can continue to use these when travelling to the EU. Britons will need to apply for their new GHIC when their current EHIC expires.
08:45 AM
Japan to widen state of emergency beyond Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a meeting of ruling party executives on Tuesday he would declare a state of emergency for the three western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to stem the spread of Covid-19, Kyodo news reported.
tokyo - Getty
Responding to pressure from Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures in eastern Japan, Suga last week declared a one-month state of emergency for that region until February 7.
But the number of coronavirus cases has also climbed in the west, prompting Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo to seek a state of emergency too. The government is finalising plans to do so on Wednesday, and could also consider adding the central prefectures of Aichi, home to Toyota Motor Corp, and Gifu, Kyodo reported, citing government sources.
Adding those five prefectures would mean a state of emergency for about half of Japan's population of 126 million people. Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, did not confirm the report, saying only that the government would consider the measures for a "swift response" for the Osaka area.
women in kimono - Getty
08:37 AM
'Testing for travellers must end before summer’
Responding to the announcement by the Government that air passengers, from 4am on Friday, will be required to take a Covid test before travelling back to the UK, Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, the industry association representing UK-registered carriers, said:
This is a national health emergency and Ministers need to act to keep the country safe. It is true that much of the sector has been lobbying for pre-departure testing – but this was always predicated on the Government removing or reducing the quarantine period at the same time. Now we have both quarantine and pre-departure testing. That’s why this new policy needs to be a time-limited, emergency measure only, in place not a second longer than necessary, and with a proper review mechanism once lockdown comes to an end. We cannot afford for this to be baked in over the whole Summer.
The focus must be on returning travel to normal as quickly as possible and removing the need to quarantine or take a test as the UK population is vaccinated. Ideally, as the vaccination roll-out gathers pace and the most at-risk parts of the country are inoculated, we can start to see the economy, and travel, open up, which would enable the sector to have what will be a critical summer season for aviation.
08:34 AM
New testing rules for arrivals to England come into force on Friday
New rules that will require international travellers to test negative for coronavirus before arriving in England will come into force from Friday, a transport minister has said.
From 4am on January 15, passengers arriving in England by boat, train or plane – including UK nationals – will have to take a test up to 72 hours before leaving the country of departure. They will need to present proof of a negative test result to their carrier on boarding while the UK Border Force will conduct spot checks on arrivals.
New arrivals who flout the rules will face a minimum £500 fine, while the operator who transported them will also be fined.
Passengers will still have to quarantine regardless of their test results, transport minister Robert Courts said in a statement. Britons attempting to return home who test positive must not travel and must follow the local guidance in their host country, and contact the nearest consulate if they need support.
08:15 AM
What happened yesterday?
The main headlines from Monday:
Britons abroad could be trapped in hotel rooms if they test positive
Aviation 'fighting for survival' says Heathrow CEO
'French borders should close'
Indonesia extends ban on foreign arrivals
Argentina extends flight ban for UK
Amsterdam may ban tourists from its marijuana shops
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A sweeping White House move on China tariffs that is expected to be unveiled early next week "reflects lessons learned," according to a former official who was involved in the process.
An annual government report offered a glimmer of good news for Social Security and a jolt of good news for Medicare even as both programs continue to be on pace to run dry next decade.
