What are the rules for travelling to green, amber and red list countries?

A terminal for passengers travelling from red list countries has opened at Heathrow.

How does the traffic light system work and what does it mean for travel?

It is legal to take foreign holidays - although Welsh residents have been asked not to travel abroad.

On England's traffic light list, countries are classed as green, amber or red - with different rules for quarantine and Covid tests. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have similar rules.

The government says you should not holiday in red or amber destinations - which means most countries.

Holidays to countries on the green list - including Portugal - can go ahead without quarantining when you return.

The list is reviewed every three weeks, with the next update expected before 7 June.

Holidaymakers also need to check whether their destination allows tourists.

Holidaymakers can visit green list countries without having to quarantine upon return.

It includes a small number of places and only Portugal and Iceland accept UK tourists.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said islands such as the Canaries and Majorca could be added from 7 June.

If returning from a greenlist country, you must:

You do not need to quarantine unless your day two test is positive, or NHS Test & Trace says you have travelled with someone who tested positive.

Most countries are on the amber list.

Asked whether it was responsible to go on holiday to an amber country, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "The guidance is not to. We've said you should only go to amber countries in exceptional circumstances."

If returning from an amber list country, you must:

It may be possible to end quarantine early if you use the test-to-release scheme.

Red list countries are those the UK government says are at the highest risk from Covid, and should not be visited "except in the most extreme of circumstances".

Dozens of countries are on the red list, including India, Pakistan, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa.

If you have been in one in the last 10 days, you can only enter the UK if you are a UK or Irish national, or UK resident.

If you're returning from a red list country, you must:

Rates are:

Terminal Three is now being used for red list flights, to keep passengers apart from amber and green arrivals.

The Department for Transport says it is not aware of direct red list flights into other UK airports.

There had been concerns at reports red list travellers were mixing with others in immigration halls.

Anyone planning to visit an amber or red list country should check their proposed destination on the FCO country advice pages.

If the FCO advises against travel, insurance would almost certainly be invalid.

If not, the cost of medical treatment abroad would be covered - usually including Covid.

But few policies - including those for green list countries - will cover your costs if you contract Covid while away and can't fly home.

People travelling from England who have had both Covid jabs can demonstrate their vaccination status via the NHS app or a letter.

People in Scotland can also now request a vaccine certificate from the NHS inform website or by calling 0808 196 8565, if they are due to travel in the next 21 days.