By International travel is unlikely to restart on May 17.
Government sources warn foreign holidays won’t resume ‘until August’
Millions of people whose holidays were cancelled due to Covid restrictions were handed credit notes last year as airlines and travel firms sought to cut back on refund costs, but some of them could be approaching expiry.
Airlines and travel agents who distributed vouchers to save money on cash refunds have failed to warn customers that many could be approaching the deadline.
It means that with ongoing travel restrictions, many passengers could find themselves out of pocket if their credit notes expire before the Prime Minister reopens Britain’s borders.
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Officials also warned that even when the travel restrictions are lifted, travellers will only be able to visit countries with high vaccination rates and no virus mutations.
The Department for Transport has not denied the reported plans, but has repeated Boris John’s previous comments about the need to open international airlines as soon as possible.
Despite this, the PM has warned that travel abroad “absolutely cannot be at the cost of our vaccine rollout”.
The Government’s Global Travel Taskforce is due to meet again from April 12 to look at the global picture and how international travel can be made possible.
It has also emerged the UK Government are considering a three-tier system combined with “rapid testing” for travellers. It is speculated that ministers are looking at grouping countries into Covid zones, based on cases, allowing those with vaccine passports or recent tests to fly abroad and return safely.
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