Malta will reopen its borders to British travellers from July 15

The island nation is opening its doors to 18 countries from July 1 and ‘everyone else’ from July 15
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With air bridges between the UK and some European nations expected to be confirmed on June 29, we’re aching to go on a summer holiday - and Malta could be the answer.

The stunning Mediterranean island nation has confirmed that British tourists will be able to visit from July 15 - two weeks after tourists from a select number of countries can visit.

Malta is welcoming tourists from 18 European nations - including the Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Slovakia, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Cyprus, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania, Israel, Luxembourg and those from the Italian islands of Sardinia and Sicily - on July 1 with ‘everyone else’ able to visit two weeks later.

At present, the Foreign Office (FCO) still advises against all non-essential travel for Brits and those returning to the UK from another country would still be subject to the 14-day quarantine that was put in place last week.

Tolene Van der Merwe, director of the Malta Tourism Authority in the UK and Ireland, told the Telegraph: “We are hoping that the FCO warning and the quarantine requirements will change on the UK side before July 15 – so that people will feel comfortable if they want to travel abroad. But this is independent of what Britain does. Malta will be open.”

On arrival, tourists will be checked for the virus and allowed to continue on to their accommodation if they test negative. Tourists will also be asked to wear face masks at the airport and on the coaches to and from hotels - and social distancing measures will be practised inside the hotels, too.

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Malta has seen just 663 confirmed cases of coronavirus and nine deaths. After declaring its first case on March 7, it swiftly enforced a 14-day quarantine to all incoming travellers from March 13 and shut down its borders to all commercial aviation on March 20.

While travel is still on hold in the UK, air bridges could be our European summer holiday saviour allowing for quarantine-free travel between nations. But Brits are looking closer to home too, with Airbnb revealing Brits’ most wish-listed homes on the platform this year are all in the UK.

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