The UK has been hit by a backlash from ‘excluded’ Portugal over its air-bridge decision.

The UK unveiled 74 quarantine-free destinations for holidaymakers- and Portugal was NOT on the list.

Holiday hotspot Portugal is one country excluded from the Government’s list of 74 countries and territories exempted from quarantine, the country’s foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said it was difficult to understand how the UK could impose quarantine measures on travellers from Portugal when it had “28 times more coronavirus deaths”. The minister reminded the UK that at least 2.5 million British nationals visit Portugal each year and that excluding them would have an effect on each others economies.

It wasn’t just Portugal though, Canada, the USA, China and Thailand were also excluded from the “amber” and “green” lists of countries to which English holidaymakers can fly and avoid quarantine on their return to the UK from Friday, July 10.

Among those included on the lists were short-haul destinations such as Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Croatia and Cyprus, as well as long-haul locations including Australia, Barbados, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Vietnam.

However, Portugal, where the Algarve is rated the third most popular European holiday spot for Britons, was left off because of a recent spike in Coronavirus cases in and around Lisbon.

Portugal’s foreign ministry said in a tweet it was “absurd” that Britain imposed quarantine on travellers coming from Portugal despite having 28 times more deaths from the coronavirus.