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Holiday options could be dramatically widened this week amid speculation more countries will be added to the government's quarantine-free 'green list'.   

Italy, Austria and Germany are among the potential destinations that appear to pose a low enough risk to be downgraded in a review due on Thursday. 

The move could make life easier for Brits who are desperate to get away, but have yet to receive both doses. 

People who are double-jabbed are due to be exempted from having to self-isolate on return to 'amber list' countries from 'Freedom Day' next Monday.

But they will have to prove they are fully vaccinated, and there fears of huge delays as the rules are eased.

Contingency plan are believed to have been put in place at Heathrow to keep passengers waiting in planes on runways if queues at border control exceed four hours. 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned holidaymakers last week that serious disruption is possible as he announced that millions of fully vaccinated Britons will not have to self-isolate from July 19.

Meanwhile, Britons will still need to consider the restrictions that are being imposed by other countries - with many trying to stop the Delta - or Indian - variant being imported from the UK.    

Italy (Pisa pictured), Austria and Germany are among the potential destinations that appear to pose a low enough risk to be downgraded in a review due on Thursday

There are fears of significant queues at Heathrow (pictured) as people try to get away on holiday this summer

Experts have pointed to the relatively controlled case levels in Italy, Austria and Germany as evidence that they can go on the 'green list' this week

The current traffic light system has very few recognised holiday destinations on the 'green list' for Britons to visit

Mr Shapps' announcement means that for fully-vaccinated Britons the rules will be essentially the same for green and amber list countries

Mr Shapps confirmed in the Commons that from July 19 double-jabbed people can visit more than 140 amber-list destinations without having to quarantine on their return.

Currently, Britons must self-isolate at home for up to ten days when they come back. 

It paves the way for holidays to major European destinations such as Greece, Spain and Portugal, with airlines reporting a surge in flight bookings. 

But Whitehall sources have warned that Border Force is 'nowhere near ready' to cope with the changes. 

The agency is seen as unlikely to have upgraded its system until next month, potentially leading to weeks of chaos at the border.

MPs have also warned that the cost of tests remains a 'barrier' to foreign travel for many families, urging ministers to drive down prices further. 

Meanwhile, experts have predicted that a dozen more countries could be added to the the 'green list' - where vaccine status is not an issue for the restrictions in England - in a review on Thursday. 

Former BA strategist Robert Boyle told the Telegraph that Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Canada, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan now meet the criteria for the loosest controls.

That would bring the total on the green list to 39, with any changes expected to take effect from next week.

At the moment the only recognised tourist destinations in that bracket are the Balearic islands of Ibiza, Menorca and Majorca, Portugal's Madeira, Malta, Gibraltar and Israel.

Under the new arrangements, travellers will still be required to fill out a passenger locator form with details of their home address.

They will also need to confirm they have booked a 'day two' PCR coronavirus test.

 Border Force agents must insect the documents for passengers at passport control. 

However, airlines will be responsible for checking vaccination status.

Border officers have warned that the huge rise in bookings since the loosening was announced will mean long queues.

Before Covid, three quarters of people who passed through the UK's border did not require any documentation checks other than verifying that their identity matched their passport.

Lucy Moreton, professional officer for the ISU immigration union, representing frontline border staff, told The Times: 'This decision will open up foreign travel to a large number of new travellers. But we are not set up to cope with that sort of demand. 

'There is no way that the border can maintain that level of checks as the number of travellers increase.

'We've got away with it so far because the number of travellers are so low. But even at this point we're seeing queues of one to two hours. 

'From the number of bookings we've seen already, we'll easily see three, four-hour queues when people start returning from their holidays.'

Announcing the move in the Commons, Mr Shapps confirmed that from the so-called 'Freedom Day', double-jabbed people can visit amber-list destinations without having to quarantine on their return