Hopes for summer holidays abroad are fading after travel rules were tightened amid growing concerns over coronavirus variants and mutations.

Travel bosses are facing 'another lost summer' after Portugal was added to the amber travel list just weeks after the holiday hotspot reopened for British tourists.

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Urging caution ahead of the scheduled domestic unlock on June 21, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps blamed the move on 'a sort of Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant' having been detected, and an increased test positivity rate in the country.

The news comes as it was revealed that the variant first identified in India is now the dominant Covid strain in the UK.

Portugal, including the islands of Madeira and the Azores, will be removed from the green list which exempts the need to quarantine on return from 4am on Tuesday, meaning travellers will be required to self-isolate for 10 days at home.

The travel industry have reacted with dismay at Thursday’s announcement, which also confirmed that no additional countries will move on to the green list for the time being, despite speculation that popular destinations such as some Spanish and Greek islands could be added.

Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye has accused the Government of 'all but guaranteeing another lost summer for the travel sector'.

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He said:  “If the Government is serious about protecting UK jobs and supporting businesses across the country, rapid action is needed to reopen flights to key trading partners, remove testing for vaccinated passengers from ‘green’ countries, and slash the cost and complexity of testing, as other G7 countries are doing.”

As holidaymakers in Portugal face a scramble to secure flights back to the UK before the quarantine rules come into force, Portugal questioned the 'logic' of the decision.

Soon after the changes were revealed, the account of the cabinet of Portugal’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs tweeted in English: “We take note of the British decision to remove Portugal from the travel ‘green list’, the logic of which we cannot understand.

“Portugal continues to carry out its prudent and gradual deconfinement plan, with clear rules for the safety of those who live here and those who visit us.”

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