Scotland’s First Minister has confirmed international travel will start to resume from next week and the country will use the traffic light system introduced by England.

However, Nicola Sturgeon said ‘everyone needs to think seriously’ about whether they need to go abroad this summer. 

Ms Sturgeon said an improved situation meant most of Scotland would move from Level 3 to Level 2 from next Monday, 17 May.

However, the Moray region will remain at Level 3 because of concerns over ‘widespread community transmission’.

Travel in and out of Moray is limited to permitted purposes only and Ms Sturgeon said financial assistance will be given to businesses affected.

The green list of destinations Scots can travel to is the same as the one for England but Ms Sturgeon said each decision would be made with Scotland’s best interests in mind.

Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) President Joanne Dooey said: “It’s a relief for the entire travel sector that limited international travel will be permitted from 17 May, in Scotland in a four nations’ approach.

“Although it should be remembered that there are limited flights to the green light countries from Scotland and that some of the green light countries are not currently permitting entry for travellers from the UK.”

But she said PCR tests were still too high and called for more information on vaccination passes.

“We’re still very keen to hear how a vaccination pass will work in practice in Scotland, with less than a week to go until the ‘take off’ outlined today.

“Travel agents and travellers do need to know how this will be implemented and what this will mean for anyone in their group who has not been vaccinated, for example due to age or underlying health conditions.”