BRITS on holiday in Thailand and Montenegro are facing a frantic rush back to the UK after both countries were added to the UK's red list last night.
The Department for Transport confirmed the changes last night, with the new rules enforced from 4am on Monday, August 31.
Officials said Thailand and Montenegro were added to "reflect the increased case rates in these countries and the higher risk that travel from these countries poses to UK public health."
However, this has led to families frantically rushing back, in a desperate attempt to avoid the pricey £2,285 hotel quarantine.
Twitter user Rebecca wrote: "In Montenegro now, due to travel home Monday morning. There are no flights back to the UK before then so what does the government expect us to do?"
Brit Jan Martinovic, currently in Montenegro, told Telegraph Travel that she had to pay an extra £1,300 for flights and a hotel, with the trip including a 12 hour stopover.
Brits wanting to return from Thailand face a trickier battle, with many taking more than 12 hours, with just one direct flight left which will get holidaymakers back in time.
One woman wrote: "Flew to Thailand to be with parents and baby brother whom I haven’t seen in almost 2 years.
"This rule doesn’t give me enough time to fly back to the UK before Thailand goes red. This policy will bankrupt me; what’s the point of being double jabbed! Just wanted to see family."
Others had a lucky escape – Olympia Kambouris wrote on Twitter: "Thailand on red list did not see that coming I cancelled my flight to Thailand 2 days ago," and added that she was instead heading to Majorca.
Some were left disappointed as their future holiday plans were ruined: "I am so gutted! Had a trip at start of September to Thailand with Maldives as back up.
"Maldives left on red list for some reason and Thailand going red on Sunday. Cheers."
Pre-Covid, Thailand was one of the most popular long-haul holiday destinations for Brits due to cheap flights and deals.
However, the country was forced to close their borders for more than a year due to the pandemic, and only recently reopened Phuket to fully vaccinated travellers, offering rooms for as little as 70p a night.
The UK's traffic light update also added seven more countries to the green list – Canada, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Azores.
No new countries were added to the amber list this week, with the next travel update expected in three weeks time, on September 16.
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