UK Revises Advisory for Greece, Paves Way for Travel 

The UK’s FCDO revised its travel advisory for Greece after announcing on Thursday that as of July 19 travelers from amber-listed countries would not be required to self-isolate upon return.

The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) also reversed its previous guidance which advised against non-essential travel to Greece. The renewed advice takes effect on Monday, July 19, at 4am and applies to all Greek territories. 

Under the new advisory, travelers to Greece or any amber-listed country should continue to check FCDO travel advice before booking as well as entry and quarantine rules.

All other requirements for people returning from green or red list countries – even when they are fully vaccinated, or for unvaccinated passengers traveling from amber countries who do not have a valid exemption – will remain the same, the FCDO said.

FCDO also stresses, among others, that travelers to Greece must wear a face mask at all times when they are on a plane, in a bus, train or ship and as well as at airports and train or bus stations.

“Thanks to our successful vaccine rollout, we’re now able to widen quarantine-free travel to NHS administered fully vaccinated adults and children under the age of 18, and take another step towards fully reopening international travel,” said UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

Photo source: Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA)

It is reminded that Greece as well as other popular tourist destinations  such as Cyprus, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal are still on the UK’s amber list – a color-coded system setting the terms for international travel. Until now, the UK had only green-listed the islands of Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Corfu and Zakynthos.

The advisory goes on to add that anyone traveling to Greece must comply with the requirements of the Greek authorities, including completing a Passenger Location Form (PLF) before traveling (both inside and outside Greece) no later than 11:59pm (Greece time) on the day before their arrival.

Additionally it notes that British nationals not on its *list (see below) may be barred from entering Greece due to measures taken by the Greek authorities to combat the spread of Covid-19, the FCDO said in its directive.

At the airport in Greece, vacationers from the UK must provide either:

– a negative PCR Covid-19 test result performed 72 hours before arrival 

– a negative antigen test for Covid-19 from an authorized lab taken 48 hours prior to scheduled flight

– a certificate indicating completed vaccination for Covid-19 (at least 14 days before the trip)

Meanwhile, in response to media reports of “cancellations” for Greek destinations due to the spread of Delta, Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) President Yiannis Retsos said on Friday via his twitter account that “based on current data provided by tourist destinations, there is no ‘wave of cancellations’. There is concern due to the Delta variant, mainly in view of a possible response by our main markets, but on the other hand, there is also expectation as we await reservations from Britain”.

*List: permanent residents of the United Kingdom, Greece, other EU or eurozone state or one of the following countries: Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Montenegro, New Zealand, Northern Macedonia, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, United States, and Ukraine.