Malta removed from UK’s safe travel list

Malta has been removed from the UK’s quarantine-free green list after a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The decision will come into effect as of 4am Saturday 15 August 2020. Those returning to the UK from Malta will need to self-isolate for a period of 14 days.

Late Thursday night travel advice was issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which warned against all but essential travel.

France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Turks and Caicos Island and Aruba were also removed from the list.

So far 11 countries have imposed restrictions to passengers arriving from Malta. This includes Italy which now required those arriving back from the island to be tested for COVID-19.

As from tomorrow Saturday 15th August, Air Malta is offering customers the opportunity to travel today Friday on a return extra flight to UK’s London Heathrow airport.  KM3108 will depart Malta at 1730hrs local time whilst KM3109 is scheduled to depart Heathrow Airport at 2100hrs. 

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• Sicily imposes quarantine on residents returning from Malta
• Italy imposes mandatory swabbing on all incoming Maltese travellers
• Malta on Netherlands COVID-19 orange list advising against non-essential travel

On Thursday 55 new cases of COVID-19 were registered; the highest number of cases Malta has ever registered in a single day.

Previously Health Minister Chris Fearne maintained that the situation was still under control because bulk testing was being carried out. He highlighted that Malta has one of the highest rates of testing in Europe.

He also announced that passengers arriving from countries and or cities considered to be high-risk COVID-19 areas will have to present a certificate stating that in the last 48 hours they tested negative for the virus. Fearne said that those that did not present a certificate would have to undergo a swab test and that if they refused they would be placed in quarantine.

READ MORE: Malta to start testing some passengers arriving from high-risk countries