Flying anyway despite code orange: ‘A corona passport should be decisive’

Because of colour code orange, airlines stopped flying to the Canary Islands, among other places, but that is changing. According to the ANVR, the trade body for tour operators, the colour code system is no longer representative.

Colour code orange

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs works with colour codes. Code orange amounts to a negative travel advisory: essential travel only. In short, tourist travel is then unwelcome.

That travel advice is still based on the number of corona infections. When infections rise, a country can go ‘to orange’. As last year, that happens fairly regularly.

The corona passport

But there is one important difference from last year. Back then there was no corona passport. “As far as we are concerned this corona passport should be decisive, not a colour code”, says Sunweb (AD).

“Is that not exactly what we developed the special QR code for at EU level? (…) Which is why we too have decided to fly to orange destinations.” Corendon had already decided the same.

Thanks to the corona passport, airlines know that their passengers are vaccinated, have tested negative or have recovered. Which reduces the risk of spread through tourists.

Hospital admissions and the vaccination rate

And there is a more important difference still: this year the vaccination campaign is in full swing. So more people are better protected against the coronavirus. And infection figures do not always tell the whole story.

“We believe you should no longer look at the number of infections per area…”, ANVR chairman Frank Oostdam responds. “…But at hospital admissions and the vaccination rate.”

“As far as we are concerned that says a great deal more about the safety situation on the ground”, the chairman goes on. “So we have asked the government to change the corona colour system.”

All in all the credibility of the current colour codes is wobbling. The floodgates, or the airport gates, seem to have opened with the positions taken by Corendon and Sunweb. TUI is considering flying to orange areas as well.

The yo-yo effect of code orange

So far sun lovers have hardly known what to count on. The South Aegean islands (Greece) went to yellow, to orange and back to yellow. The Canary Islands (Spain) were only briefly yellow and were then given colour code orange.

• The Ionian islands (Greece) have been spared the yo-yo effect so far. Take a look at our tips for Zakynthos.