Holiday hopes have been reignited with a major traffic light shake-up that saw seven countries upgraded to the green list and four removed from the dreaded red list. 

Trips to Dubai are back on after hotel quarantine was scrapped for those returning from the UAE. From 4am on August 8, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to isolate, subject to testing. India, Qatar and Bahrain also turned amber, the first batch of countries to be promoted from the red list since its creation.

In response to the UAE decision, John Bevan, divisional senior vice president of dnata Travel Group said: “It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have some good news and we’ll now prepare for what we anticipate will be substantial growth in demand for late-notice departures from next week for those who meet the requirements to travel.”

Meanwhile, seven countries (Austria, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia) were added to the green list. And for those looking for last-minute summer holiday plans, France will no longer be categorised as “amber plus”, ending the requirement for fully jabbed holidaymakers to quarantine on their return.

However, it wasn’t all good news for travellers, with Mexico turning red alongside Georgia, La Reunion and Mayotte. Those arriving from these destinations must spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel, the cost of which will rise from £1,750 to £2,285 from August 12.