BRITS wanting to head to France have been given a holiday boost as the country is expected to be removed from the amber-plus list this week.
If it is taken off the list, then fully vaccinated holidaymakers can skip the UK quarantine and third Covid test.
France is currently the only country on the amber-plus list, after it was excluded from the amber list restrictions being lifted.
Brits who have had both jabs can currently return from amber destinations – which includes Spain, Greece and Portugal – and follow the same rules as the green list.
The Sun understands that the extra category for France is set for the axe within days if the Beta variant cases continue to fall there.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps insisted last week that the concerns over the Beta variant were based on cases in mainland France, not the tiny department of Reunion island in the Indian Ocean.
He said it was right to continue with a “cautious” approach.
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Mr Shapps added: “The Beta variant, it’s not just — as has been reported — on an island thousands of miles away.
"It was also an issue in particular in northern France, so it has been an overall concern.
"And, look, the big concern is that we don’t allow a variant in which somehow is able to escape the vaccine programme that we have got.”
However, with the next travel review to take place this week on either August 4 or August 5, the amber-plus list could be scrapped altogether, putting France back onto the standard amber list.
There are now fears of a new "amber watchlist" which would mean any country on the new amber list could quickly be moved to the red list – which bans all non-essential travel.
Countries which could be put onto it include holiday hotspots Spain, Greece and Italy, all of which are currently on the amber list as they all report high Covid case rates and the Beta variant.
However, Tory backbenchers have blasted the government’s “inexplicably complicated” plans to introduce an amber watchlist over fears they could ruin summer holidays.
Huw Merriman, the Tory Chairman of the Commons transport committee, said the proposal for an amber watchlist was a “giant red flag” that would cause bookings to collapse.
He added: “This is not the time be adding further complexity, uncertainty and anxiety to an already beleaguered sector."
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