Holidays to the Spanish Islands will go on sale in time for the halfway point Maldives, Mykonos and Denmark have also been added to the list
Last minute vacations to the Canaries will return on sale in time for a mid-term getaway after the islands are added to the list of UK travel lanes
Vacationers will be able to visit any of the archipelago’s eight main islands without the need to quarantine for 14 days upon their return The decision takes effect from 4 a.m. on Sunday (October 25), a carrier Grant Shapps confirmed on Twitter on Thursday
TUI, the UK’s largest holiday company, has announced it will be running vacations on sale to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote from Saturday (October 24), with more flights to follow
TUI Managing Director UK & Ireland Andrew Flintham described adding his most popular sunny winter destination to the Safe Destinations list as « a positive step forward »
« We were unable to take people to the Canary Islands for 89 days, when the sudden quarantine and subsequent travel advice was imposed without notice So we’re delighted that UK flights are resuming now from Saturday «
The operator will also operate flights twice a week to Saint Lucia and Cuba during the winter, starting on Sunday
Adventure company Explore Worldwide has announced it will now increase the number of small-group trips it organizes to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and La Gomera during winter General Manager John Telfer said that in addition to being great news for travelers, the opening of the islands was « a much needed boost for all of our hoteliers and guides in the Canaries »
The Maldives, the Greek island of Mykonos and Denmark were also added to the list of travel corridors which already included Greece, Gibraltar, Sweden and Germany However, the German government placed the ‘entire UK in a high alert category, meaning anyone arriving from the UK should be quarantined on arrival in Germany, from 1101h on Friday; and the UK is on Denmark’s banned list
A spokesperson for the Association of British Travel Agents described Shapps’ announcement as « a little light at the end of a very dark tunnel for the travel industry », but pointed out that the pandemic had paralyzed travel abroad companies « facing difficult decisions about employment in the coming weeks »
Paul Charles of the PC Agency, who has been pushing for affordable airport testing for months, agreed that the outlook for travel over the winter is « tough »
« We envision six cruel months to travel anywhere Stock prices [in travel agencies] have plummeted; capacity has been curtailed by airlines; more businesses will fail and more employees will be redundant The short-term outlook is difficult – that’s why we need effective testing, ”he said
Airlines are currently operating at less than a third of their usual capacity BA announced further reductions in its flights on October 22 It will not fly more than 30% of its hourly flights for the rest of the year, after reporting a £ 117bn loss for the July-September period EasyJet said it would fly at 25% capacity next year, while Ryanair was cut to around 40% of its regular flights until March
Charles said he hopes travel opportunities will be much better from the summer of 2021 « By the summer the quarantine system will be a shadow of itself There will be diets of effective testing [in place] and internationally recognized standards The whole departure process will be easier «
He predicts demand will be so high that it will exceed availability « There will be two years of demand shifting into one and airlines will not have enough flights They will run at around 60-70% of their capacity «
Canary Islands, United Kingdom, Maldives, Mykonos, Tourism
World News – GB – Canary Islands added to list of UK travel corridors
