Travel chaos as UK red-lists Montenegro

NEWS FLASH

Low cost carrier easyJet is suspending its seasonal flights from London Gatwick and Manchester to Tivat from next week after the UK government announced yesterday it would place Montenegro on its red list from Monday at 4.00 BST. Red-list countries are those the UK government says present the highest Covid risk and should not be visited "except in the most extreme of circumstances". Those returning from red-list countries must self-isolate for ten days in a government-approved quarantine hotel, booked and paid for in advance, regardless of the individual’s vaccination status. Travellers who do not have British or Irish citizenship or residency rights will not be allowed into England when travelling from Montenegro. easyJet will operate its final service from Tivat to Manchester on Sunday, which has been sold out. The airline planned to run two weekly flights from London Gatwick to Tivat until September 27, and two weekly rotations from Manchester until October 3. All flights after this Sunday have now been cancelled. At this point, Ryanair continues to sell flights between London Stansted and Podgorica, however, tickets from the Montenegrin capital to London have been sold out for its upcoming service this Sunday, while one-way tickets thereafter cost over 340 euros. Meanwhile, Air Serbia, as the busiest transfer airline from Montenegro, is sold out on its Belgrade - London Heathrow sector both today and for its next flight on Sunday in business and economy class. easyJet flights from nearby Dubrovnik to London Gatwick and Manchester have been sold out for this weekend. At the time of writing, tickets remain available for its Sunday service to Bristol but are selling at over 400 euros one-way. Montenegro is the first country from the former Yugoslavia to be placed on the UK's red list. Its traffic light travel system has been widely criticised by the aviation and travel industry.