British travelers were heading back home on Sunday from a shorter-than-expected holiday in the Algarve before a 10-day quarantine began early next week due to rising coronavirus infections in Portugal.
Britain said last week it was removing Portugal from its “green list” of countries that do not require quarantine on return because of rising COVID-19 case numbers and the risk posed by covid-19 variants detected in Portugal.Â
Portugal had been placed on the green list just weeks earlier, but from 0400 GMT on Tuesday it will shift to the “amber list”, meaning returning Britons will need to quarantine for 10 days and take two COVID-19 tests.
In the Algarve, the favorite Portuguese destination of British holidaymakers, Faro airport had long queues on Sunday afternoon as more travelers decided to shorten their holiday to avoid quarantine.
Faro airport had 55 flights scheduled to the UK on Sunday, with a capacity to transport more than 10,000 people, compared to fewer than 20 flights from Lisbon airport, according to information on the website of Portugal’s airport’s operator ANA.
