kingcole974

If today's reports in the press end up being true then PT could be downgraded to Amber. As this is virtually the only viable route for BA (and do doubt many other UK based carriers) this move could be catastrophic for the industry. I admit to having a self interest here. I'm travelling to FAO on Sunday and there are 4 x A321 BA jets from LHR alone and they look pretty full.

If they are indeed relegated to Amber, can anyone remember the governments musings about movements? I seem to remember them saying there would be more notice than last year. A week rings a bell but I can find reference to it online......

Ben1989

It does baffle me. We are travelling to the USA. The 7-day rolling case average is exactly the same for USA & Portugal. USA is obviously amber, though. Also over 43% of America's population is fully vaccinated whereas only 18% of Portugal's is. The other two criteria are genome sequencing and variants which I don't see any difference between the two. If I gave you just the figures and asked which country was green and amber, it'll be backwards.

It's annoying but I'm satisfied they're following some form of logic. I wanted either USA upgraded to green or Portugal downgraded to amber due to what I said above. Otherwise there is an underlying, untold narrative.

What is frustrating is, like yourself, if Portugal does get downgraded, is that your travel insurance is suddenly voided. The government need to step in here.

I guess we'll know more tonight with dates. I've heard 10th June and also 7th June which makes sense as it's exactly 3 weeks after 17th May rules took affect. However, not much notice, at all.

Schind

The government have said that if there's a sudden change in any green list country it can be moved to amber or red immediately and without warning.
The problem we have is that the government haven't announced the detailed criteria of their system. Portugal has seen a rise in cases lately but it's still relatively low. If we knew the number of cases per 100,000 in a given period that qualified for green (just one of the criteria but an important one) we'd know the likelihood of Portugal changing.
Personally I think the press are just scaremongering. It's what they do best.

kingcole974

I hope you're right. Also what Ben says rings oh so true. I also seem to recall something about a countries status being deemed 'at risk' which basically means a move down is very possible......I may have been imagining this or just thinking aloud what should happen!

sammyg901

The green/amber/red shouldn't matter for most policies - it's the FCDO travel advice that they usually go on. e.g. currently there are Greek islands that are Amber but not advised against travel and "normal" insurance is now viable. You could also buy from Battleface or Staysure etc.

lost_in_translation

I have to believe Portugal probably goes on the "green watchlist" after today rather than straight to amber, the whole point of the green watchlist (which currently has no countries on it...) was to flag countries at risk of moving off the green list in the very near term and avoid sudden changes like last year. If a pretty small uptick in cases in Portugal leads to it moving straight to amber then I'm not sure any country will ever be added to the green watchlist!

I have variously seen 7th and 10th reported as the date the changes take effect, I don't recall anything in the past where the government committed to a fixed period.

If Portugal goes amber without another major tourist destination going green (i.e. somewhere bigger than Malta) then BA volumes will absolutely take a serious hit and I wonder whether e.g. Galleries Club South at T5 starts to close again.

northeastflyer

Hi. I'm having to think ahead of this afternoon's decision as I start my journey to London tomorrow and onwards to Portugal Saturday. I've packed, had my PCR test. I know it's not illegal to travel to an Amber country, but if I decided to still go and quarantine at home on return, am I going to have problems at LHR on the outbound? That's of course aside from the fact that I guess many of the flights would suddenly be cancelled. Pretty gutted to have to consider all of this, but after the last year or so, why am I surprised. Thanks for any advice from the ones on here that know!!

KARFA

No

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I do not think you would have any problems at heathrow on the outbound as there are no restrictions on travel unless flights get cancelled.
I would check on your insurance cover though.

Regards
Tbs
Ps got to be quick these days in replying .thanks karfa

kingcole974

Green watchlist. That's the term I was trying to remember. Totally agree that if PT went straight to Amber then GWL status will never happen to any country.

Ben1989

The trouble of being ahead in vaccinations is other countries need to be at the same stage to effectively be able to travel there (relatively) freely.

The only issue you'll have northeastflyer is that you must have booked a Day 2 and a Day 8 test before you arrive back. Of course, this is all assuming the rumours are true. It could turn out to remain on the green list.

KARFA

absolutely. But just to clarify with regard to their question, this won’t be an issue when flying out and won’t be checked at any point at NCL or LHR on the outbound.

northeastflyer

Thanks for your replies. Appreciate it. Time will tell! Any idea when the announcement is happening?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Probably around 5PM based on previous announcements iirc.

Regards
tbs

northeastflyer

Thank you