• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt

2

U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited

3

After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'

1

Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt

2

U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited

3

After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'
U.K.

The U.K.’s ever-changing COVID travel rules are baffling a nation that just wants to get away

By
Katherine Dunn
Katherine Dunn
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Katherine Dunn
Katherine Dunn
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 22, 2020, 5:00 AM ET

If your holidays lack excitement, try something truly high-stakes: taking a flight from continental Europe back to the U.K.

Until recently, even amid years of Brexit negotiations, travel not just in continental Europe but between Europe and the U.K. was nearly seamless: countless bargain-basement flights left airports across the country daily, and Paris and London were just a relaxed, two-hour train journey apart.

That ease has been ended by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it hasn’t stopped Britons from going on holiday this summer. Instead, it’s added a new level of chance and risk to the proceedings, with countries rapidly being added to or taken off the country’s 14-day quarantine list with less than 48 hours notice—infuriating travel bookers, confusing tourists, and provoking scrambles to cross the English Channel.

“Only travel if you are content to unexpectedly 14-day quarantine if required (I speak from experience!)”, transport minister Grant Shapps warned on Twitter. Shapps was forced to return early from a family holiday in Spain in July after the country was placed on the quarantine list.

This week, Croatia, Austria and Trinidad & Tobago were added to the quarantine list, giving tourists who wish to avoid self-isolation just 36 hours to get back to the country before the rules enter effect from Saturday morning at 4 a.m. On the other hand, Portugal—a beloved travel destination—was taken off the quarantine list, raising hopes for a late-summer holiday rush.

Data shows we need to remove Croatia, Austria and Trinidad & Tobago from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN. If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) August 20, 2020

Croatia is estimated to be currently host to up to 20,000 British tourists, according to travel expert Paul Charles, who is the CEO of the travel consultancy The PC Agency.

That switch followed similar high-drama announcements for travelers arriving from France, last week, and previously Spain, provoking mad dashes to get back to the U.K.

The rules have drawn outrage from travel bookers and travel companies, who are wrestling with cancellations and extreme fluctuations in bookings. When the U.K.’s quarantine rules went into effect in June, they drew vast complaints from the sector that they had called for quarantine rules ahead of or in the midst of the country’s two-month lockdown—when no such rules were in place—and that applying them in June, by which time the U.K. had the highest death toll in Europe, made no sense.

Since then, a cottage tracking service has sprung up, with travel experts like Charles posting regular updates on infection rates among popular holiday destinations to warn of future changes, rumors flying of where to go, and when, and others tracking flight prices once quarantine restrictions go into place.

Croatia: trying to find flights home to the UK before 4am on Saturday?
The only direct departure I can see is British Airways, Zagreb to Heathrow (£376 one way).
Booking connecting flights? Please don't route via Paris or Amsterdam – changing planes at either triggers quarantine.

— Simon Calder (@SimonCalder) August 20, 2020

Some of the calls to moderate the quarantines have included calls for “regional” restrictions—including from the Croatian Ambassador, who noted that cases were rising in the capital, not in the tourist hotspots—and testing services at the airport. Both have been dismissed by the U.K. government: in the first case, transport minister Shapps said other countries didn’t have the detail or level of testing found in the U.K., making it difficult to assess their regional infection rates; in the case of airports, he said that it was “a bit more complicated” than often suggested, and would require a second test days later.

Chaos has reigned in other ways, too. Scotland, for example, has put Switzerland on the quarantine list—even as the country remains on the safe list for England. And there are other twists, in keeping with the U.K.’s byzantine rule-setting on everything from seeing parents during a lockdown (one at a time), to going to the pub (don’t sing, please.)

A bizarre move for @scotgov to add #Switzerland to the quarantine list from Saturday, in defiance of @transportgovuk – just fly to #Manchester or #Newcastle and drive north. #Switzerland on 18.5 is below 20 threshold and the policy confuses consumers even more. #PlayingPolitics?

— Paul Charles (@PPaulCharles) August 20, 2020

This week, fact checking service Full Fact confirmed with the U.K. government that a returned traveller may leave quarantine within the two week period—to go to another country. Whether they then need to complete a quarantine at all when they return to the U.K. depends on where they went, and for how long.

However, there was a lingering question hanging over the quarantine list: whether quarantines were actually being enforced. On Friday, the transport minister Grant Shapps said on BBC Breakfast he did not know how many people had been fined under quarantine rules, as travelers said there were no checks to see where they had arrived from, or if they quarantined at all.

About the Author
By Katherine Dunn
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

AI will make the ‘tech bro’ class even richer, Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz says, just as it can take your job
AIJobs
AI will make the ‘tech bro’ class even richer, Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz says, just as it can take your job
By Catherina GioinoMay 31, 2026
1 hour ago
peter thiel
AIskills
Forget the STEM safety net. Peter Thiel warns AI is a bigger threat to technical roles than to creative thinkers
By Jake AngeloMay 31, 2026
1 hour ago
Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach
SuccessCareers
Ex-Workday CEO says his career took off after he changed his attitude—and Amazon boss Andy Jassy swears by the same mindset hack
By Preston ForeMay 31, 2026
1 hour ago
CEOs blame AI for layoffs, but an MIT professor says it fits a long-running pattern to find a cover story. ‘They’ve been saying that for 20 years’
AIthe future of work
CEOs blame AI for layoffs, but an MIT professor says it fits a long-running pattern to find a cover story. ‘They’ve been saying that for 20 years’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 31, 2026
2 hours ago
Hegseth seeks to convince allies U.S. should stay quiet on Taiwan
AsiaChina
Hegseth seeks to convince allies U.S. should stay quiet on Taiwan
By Josh Xiao, Philip J. Heijmans and BloombergMay 31, 2026
2 hours ago
Experimental pill nearly doubles survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer. ‘I actually started crying’
HealthHealth
Experimental pill nearly doubles survival time for people with advanced pancreatic cancer. ‘I actually started crying’
By Lauran Neergaard and The Associated PressMay 31, 2026
2 hours ago

Most Popular

Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt
Economy
Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt
By Shawn TullyMay 30, 2026
1 day ago
U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited
Politics
U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited
By Jack Wittels and BloombergMay 30, 2026
1 day ago
After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'
Law
After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'
By Collin Binkley and The Associated PressMay 30, 2026
21 hours ago
After Blue Origin rocket explosion, NASA's entire moon exploration program depends on SpaceX for now as Musk eyes blockbuster IPO soon
Innovation
After Blue Origin rocket explosion, NASA's entire moon exploration program depends on SpaceX for now as Musk eyes blockbuster IPO soon
By Jason MaMay 30, 2026
22 hours ago
Damn the torpedoes — More ships are quietly slipping through the Strait of Hormuz as helicopters scare off Iran's fast-attack boats
Energy
Damn the torpedoes — More ships are quietly slipping through the Strait of Hormuz as helicopters scare off Iran's fast-attack boats
By Jason MaMay 30, 2026
1 day ago
Gen Z is rejecting $200 dates and choosing 'solo-maxxing'—and dating apps are taking a hit
Economy
Gen Z is rejecting $200 dates and choosing 'solo-maxxing'—and dating apps are taking a hit
By Sydney LakeMay 30, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.