* UK proposes traffic light system for travel
* Says more details on whether travel possible in early May
* Travel to low risk green countries requires expensive PCR
test
* Airlines say that will make travel too expensive for many
* Transport minister says people can now book trips abroad
(Recasts, adds minister comments)
By Estelle Shirbon and Sarah Young
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Airlines slammed Britain's plans
for restarting international travel, saying that expensive
testing requirements for trips to low-risk countries would mean
that only wealthy people could take holidays abroad.
Under government proposals, airlines and passengers will not
find out until early May whether international travel resumes
from May 17, a plan which fell short of industry hopes for
clarity.
Airlines and travel companies are desperate for a bumper
summer after a year of restrictions. Without a high level of
unrestricted travel, some could be left struggling to survive or
needing fresh funds.
The government has proposed a traffic light system, with
countries falling into red, amber or green categories based on
COVID-19 risks. Green countries will require a PCR test which
costs about 100 pounds ($135) for travellers once they arrive
back in the UK.
"This does not represent a reopening of travel as promised
by ministers," said Airlines UK, an industry body which
represents British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair
, Virgin Atlantic and others.
"It is a further setback for an industry on its knees."
EasyJet, Britain's biggest airline by passenger numbers,
singled out the PCR testing requirement, the cost of which it
says is higher than some of its fares, and called on the
government to re-assess its plan.
"This risks reversing the clock and making flying only for
the wealthy," said easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren.
Britons have embraced the era of low cost travel over the
last 20 years and are among Europe's highest spending tourists.
In 2019, more than six in ten Britons took a foreign holiday.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps said that the government
wanted to make testing for travel cheaper and suggested that in
time, the PCR test could be changed for a more affordable
lateral flow test.
"We are committed as a government to work to drive those
costs down, and also in time of course review potentially the
type of test," he told the BBC.
The framework for travel will be reviewed at the end of
June, July and again in October, the government has said.
"I'm not telling people that they shouldn't book some
holidays now," Shapps said. "It's the first time I've been able
to say that for many months."
Case numbers in Britain have dropped dramatically since a
January peak under a strict lockdown which has banned holidays,
but a government priority is to avoid undermining the success of
its vaccination programme by importing vaccine-resistant
variants from overseas.
Under the traffic light system, restrictions such as hotel
quarantine, home quarantine and compulsory COVID tests will
apply differently depending on which category of country a
passenger arrives from.
There will be a "green watchlist" identifying countries most
at risk of moving from green to amber, although the government
said it would not hesitate to change a country's category should
data show risk had increased.
A digital travel certification system would also be part of
the plan but the proposals gave few details beyond saying that
Britain wanted to play a leading role in developing standards.
($1 = 0.7310 pounds)
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Sarah Young; additional
reporting by Michael Holden editing by Diane Craft, Robert
Birsel and Nick Macfie)