MANCHESTER Airport has hit back at the Government over its plans to make UK travellers take coronavirus tests even after they have been fully vaccinated.

In a joint article in The Daily Telegraph, the chief executives of Manchester Airport Group, along with BA, Heathrow Airport, easyJet, and Jet2 have criticised the Government for an 'overabundance of caution'.

The group says it is 'illogical' to require fully vaccinated British holidaymakers to pay £60 per person to take a PCR test when coming home from a country on the UK’s safe 'green' list.

"Instead of taking advantage of the success of the vaccine programme, the Government risks closing the UK off from the rest of the world," they wrote.

"We want to be able to support a safe reopening, but if we are not prepared to accept any risk then travel will never restart and we will not be able to support UK travel and tourism businesses and supercharge the UK’s economic recovery.

"Travel, even from green countries, will still require arrivals into the UK to take a ‘gold-standard’ PCR test which, until recently, were costing more than double the European average at over £100 each."

The rest of the EU is letting holidaymakers with proof of vaccination sidestep tests and quarantine, said the group, which also said the Government’s green list of countries was expected to be disappointingly small.

Quarantine-free travel from May 17 is expected to include Gibraltar, Malta, Israel, Iceland and possibly Portugal.

Most of Europe – including France, Spain, Greece and Italy – will be amber, The Telegraph said, requiring holidaymakers to self-isolate for 10 days on their return and take two PCR tests.

Ministers remain hopeful that most European countries would be open to green list travel by the end of June.