British residents welcome UAE amber list status with open arms

People can now fly to England and quarantine at home for 10 days and apply to release early after a negative PCR test

Passengers arrive at London's Heathrow Airport. The UK has added the UAE to its amber travel list.

The British government said the move will allow some business travel to resume and help families and friends to reunite with loved ones.

John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow Airport, during a television interview at the airport's Terminal 5.

Passengers maintain physical distance at Heathrow.

A member of cleaning staff sanitising a pillar at Heathrow.

An all-but-deserted transit at Gatwick Airport, south of London.

Passengers arrive at Gatwick Airport.

Travellers arrive St Pancras International station in London on the Eurostar train from Paris.

Passengers queue for flights at Heathrow Airport.

An arrival from the US is welcomed with open arms at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5.

Read more: UK amber list: what are the quarantine rules for UAE residents flying to England?

Thousands of UAE expats breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as the UK moved the country to its amber list from red.

For more than six months, British residents in the UAE were unable to travel to England without completing mandatory hotel quarantine – at a cost of £1,750 (Dh8,900) for 10 days.

Now, they can fly into the country and quarantine at home for 10 days, or test to release following a negative PCR test on day five.

The news was met with open arms by families who have been desperate to travel to England to see loved ones.

Dubai resident Andrea Britchford, 46, said it is a step in the right direction but there is still a way to go.

“On hearing the news I was happy, surprised and relieved, but tainted by the fact that we still have to quarantine even if double vaccinated in the UAE,” she said.

“Being on the red list brought a lot of uncertainty and stress of whether to travel to the UK this summer.

“We did in the end, via Greece, but the restrictions have been frustrating and it felt very heavy knowing you couldn’t just go home.”

Ms Britchford, her husband and two children flew to Greece on July 7, then on to the UK on July 22. Her husband, however, was unable to join them in the UK because he had exhausted his leave during the stopover in Greece.

In total, the family paid about Dh4,700 ($1,279) for PCR tests and lateral flow tests.

"Saying that sounds insane," the freelance travel consultant said.

“The total cost is high, but offset against the option of hotel quarantine, it was manageable.”

Linda Middleton-Jennings, 36, a mother of two, said she cannot wait to introduce her family to her three-month-old child.

“I’m ecstatic. I’ve lived in the UAE for nine years and normally travel home about five times every year,” she said.

“It’s been really hard having a baby and not meeting any family at home. Our almost-two-year-old doesn’t remember any of the family because he’s not seen them for so long.

“I’ve constantly looked at options for flying via green or amber countries but friends have booked and cancelled up to four routes and travelling with two boys under two to a third country, with my husband working remotely, wasn’t feasible.”

The family of four are now flying to the UK on August 31, will home quarantine for 10 days – taking Covid-19 tests on day two and eight – then will spend one week in the north of England visiting relatives.

Residents planned stopover trips to get home

The UAE was put on the UK’s red list on January 29. A decline in infections, a high vaccination rate and greater clarity on the virus strains are thought to be the reasons behind the move from red to amber, which will come into effect at 4am British Summer Time on August 8.

For the past six months, many residents in the UAE have been planning stopover holidays in destinations on the UK’s green and amber list, including Greece and Spain, before flying on to the UK.

Mandatory PCR tests and additional flights and accommodation left many out of pocket and with limited annual leave for the rest of the year.

In some cases, residents sacrificed trips home altogether in the hope the UAE would move to the UK's amber list.

Lisa Drury, 53, a communications consultant in Dubai, said it was a frustrating start to the year.

“[When I read the news it was] relief and delight as we have had to put our summer plans on hold,” she said.

“We had wanted to visit the UK, as we do every summer. It's where our parents live and where our daughters are.

“It's been really frustrating as we could not spend more than two weeks in the UK due to work commitments, so if we had been forced to quarantine it would have eaten into that vacation period substantially, as well as adding to the cost.

“I will now travel back alone to join my daughters, without my husband, as he now has work commitments so cannot take time off, unfortunately.”

Ms Drury will travel to England in the first week of September and quarantine at her parents' home.

She said she will have to pay for a pre-flight PCR test, as well as those on day two and day eight of her stay in the UK and has budgeted an additional Dh1,500 for the privilege.

Sophia Brecknell, Deputy Ambassador and Chargé d'affaires at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi, welcomed an announcement long-awaited by so many.

I’m delighted that the UAE is being removed from the red list, as the UK continues its cautious reopening of international travel," she said.

"This is good news, which I know many people here have been waiting for. Travellers arriving in the UK from the UAE after 4am UK time on Sunday will no longer have to enter hotel quarantine. They should though continue to check gov.uk for details of the testing and self isolation requirements."