Dawn of vaccine passports: EU is set to agree this week whether to let in British tourists who can prove they've had Covid jabs - as NHS app launches new 'travel' section with QR code to show vaccine status
The EU is expected to sign off on plans for Britons who have had both jabs to fly to Europe without having to quarantine or take a Covid test.
The European Union's new plan would see member states adopting uniform entry requirements, meaning vaccinated holidaymakers from low-risk countries - such as the UK - would be able to enter France, Spain, Italy and other hotspots.
Britain will be included on an EU expanded 'green list' of permitted holiday travel on Wednesday as the bloc's ambassadors are set to confirm a European Commission proposal lift restrictions on well-vaccinated nations, it is understood.
It will also be recommended that member states prepare digital portals allowing Britons to use the NHS app as a vaccine passport, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Those without vaccinations will be required to present a negative Covid test or evidence of immunity.
It comes as change to the NHS app brought in today allows people to prove whether they have had the Covid jab – effectively making it a vaccine passport.
The update for users in England has been brought in with little fanfare but MPs and privacy campaigners have voiced fears that any such system could be discriminatory and a breach of human rights.
The app, which is separate to the NHS Covid-19 app for contact tracing, can already be used to request repeat prescriptions, book doctor appointments and view medical records.
A No 10 source said the updated app was designed to allow people to meet foreign countries' requirements for visitors. But they said 'no decisions' had been taken on the scope or use of any domestic scheme.
Passengers disembark from an early morning flight to Madeira, one of the government's green list destinations on Monday
A cabin crew member and passengers onboard an early morning TUI flight to Madeira in Portugal yesterday
The news comes just as the ban on non-essential travel was lifted and Downing Street doubled down on its insistence that people should only be holidaying in the 12 countries on the 'green list'.
They should not be travelling to the dozens of popular destinations on the 'amber list' unless it is essential, a spokesman said.
And Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britons should not travel to amber or red list countries or territories 'unless you have an exceptional reason'.
And the boss of British Airways has now called on the Government to open up air travel to low-risk countries.
In a rallying cry to Ministers, Sean Doyle said data on vaccination and infection rates for countries including the US, Spain and Greece made a 'compelling case' for putting them on the green list for quarantine-free travel from early next month.
Yesterday Matt Hancock came under fire over the Government's travel restrictions, with one senior Tory asking 'what the point' is of having a passport.
The Health Secretary appeared to rule out holidays to France, Spain and elsewhere by warning people should not travel to countries on the amber list unless they have an 'exceptional' reason to do so.
Huw Merriman, who chairs the Transport Select Committee, said: 'Given that he's just effectively turned the amber list into red, can I ask him what the point of me having my passport is anymore?
'Covid will always mutate, the vaccine will always have to keep up.
'We managed to vaccinate 99% of the mortality risk.
'When will this Government actually take a little bit of risk and allow people to get on with their lives again?'
Mr Hancock replied: 'The red, amber and green lists are there reflecting risks that there are in other places around the world.
'The amber list of course means that you have to quarantine at home, the red list means quarantine in a hotel, the green list means that we think that it is safe to travel.
'So of course he should get his passport out, he can get on a plane to Portugal or one of the other countries.
'It allows for some careful foreign travel, but my first duty is to protect the lives of people here in the UK and the best way to do that right now is to make sure we are cautious on international travel to protect the opening up here at home.'
Last week Boris Johnson said the quarantine-free travel green list will not be expanding 'very rapidly'.
The Prime Minister said: 'We will certainly be making sure that people travelling abroad will be subject to all the tests and constraints to prevent the virus being reimported.
A group of tourists who flew in earlier in the day from Manchester and Essex enjoy a drink by the marina in Vilamoura, in Portugal's southern Algarve region
'That's why it's such a tiny list of countries and I don't expect we will be adding to it very rapidly. We will be maintaining a very, very tough border regime for the foreseeable future. It is just too early to talk about exactly what the summer will be like.'
His downbeat outlook came as 18 airport bosses signed a letter urging Mr Johnson and his counterparts in the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to initiate 'a more meaningful restart of travel'.
They wrote: 'We believe the current extremely limited green list of countries demonstrates that the UK is being overly cautious and will fail to grasp the opportunities resulting from the successful rollout of the vaccine.
'There are a million jobs in aviation, with a further half a million jobs relying on aviation in the tourism sector.
'This is quite apart from the many sectors that need aviation in order to trade with both existing and new, developing markets. With the current restrictions the Government is applying, those jobs remain at very high risk.'
They warn 'serious failures to manage the border' also threaten the recovery.
There have been queues of up to seven hours at Heathrow as border guards check passengers' Covid paperwork manually and electronic passport gates remain closed.
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