Simon Calder’s ‘Ask me Anything’: The Independent’s travel expert answers your questions

This week, residents of the US and the EU (sans France) got the news that some of them have been waiting for: that they will be able to travel to Britain without quarantine if they’re fully jabbed. The news will pave the way for families and friends to reunite without the threat of quarantine, though it has come much too late to rescue the summer for the UK’s currently non-existent inbound tourism industry.

The plan to allow overseas visitors – and UK expatriates vaccinated abroad – to avoid self-isolation on entry from amber list countries will apply to arrivals into England, Scotland and Wales, with Northern Ireland expected to follow suit imminently.

The news comes ahead of the next update to the green, amber and red lists next week; and questions remain over the status of France (currently on the bespoke “amber plus” list) and the ongoing infection surge in Spain.

The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has confirmed that mandatory quarantine was kept in place for arrivals from France was “based on the prevalence of the so-called Beta variant, in particular in the Réunion bit of France”.

Many people are struggling to understand why Réunion itself remains on the plain amber list.

On Thursday 29 July at 4pm I’ll be on hand to answer your travel questions about the latest rule changes.

Register to submit your question in the Comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the Comments box to leave your question.

Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them.

Then join us live on this page at 4pm today as I tackle as many questions as I can within an hour.

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