Portugal questions move to UK Orange Travel List: ‘We can’t understand the logic’ | UK News

Portuguese authorities have questioned why the UK has upgraded the popular holiday destination from its green travel list to amber.

The move, announced on Thursday, means thousands of Britons who traveled there for the mid-term school break are now scrambling to get home before the mandatory 10-day self-isolation begins at 4 a.m. morning Tuesday.

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But the decision baffled the Portuguese Foreign Ministry.

In a tweet, he said he couldn’t “understand the logic”.

“Portugal continues to ease its lockdown, cautiously and gradually, with clear rules for the safety of those who reside here or visit us.”

The UK government’s current advice is not to visit Amber Countries – and anyone who does must take two tests on their return and self-isolate at home for 10 days.

Countries added to the red list on Thursday include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago.

Travelers from these countries will be required to self-quarantine at a designated hotel upon return – at their own expense.

British holidaymaker Tim Taylor left for Portugal on Monday morning. At this point his destination was on the government’s green list – but three days later he is faced with uncertainty.

He told Sky News: “It’s quite frustrating – and it came out of the blue. We didn’t expect Portugal to be on the Orange List.

“As far as we know, the number of cases was pretty stable.”

Mr Taylor is now among the thousands of Britons who are planning an early return and trying to book flights.

He said when he initially looked at the cost of the return flights – they were around £ 99. Within ‘five or ten minutes’ they had risen to £ 145.