In the UK, holiday makers have begun to escape to green and some amber list destinations from today (17 May) as travel restrictions are eased.
The 12 UK Green list countries include: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Portugal, Israel, Gibraltar, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Brunei, Falkland Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
A recent survey has shown that more than half of adults in Britain have booked or are considering booking a holiday abroad after today (May 17), with one in five planning to travel within the next three months, according to the survey sponsored by the L3Harris Airline Academy.
The survey found that out of those who have booked a holiday abroad, or are considering booking one, 20% plan to fly within the next three months as soon as restrictions ease, 40% will travel abroad in four to six months’ time for an Autumn break, and another 24% will travel within 12 months.
Short-haul flights are the most popular options, with 56% opting to keep flights short, especially those between 55-64 years of age (55%), rather than choosing long-haul flights (23%).
The survey also revealed that Spain is the number-one destination people have booked to fly to, or are considering travelling to, once COVID restrictions ease (19%), followed by America (9%), Greece (7%) and Italy (7%). Sixty-one percent chose an appealing holiday destination, 33% to visit family and friends, 24% because they just could not wait to get away, especially those aged 25-34 years old (41%).
British Airways CEO, Sean Doyle, has called for the US to be placed on the UK’s green list of countries from which arrivals don’t have to self-isolate or quarantine.
Doyle said that travel restrictions should be eased for countries which are “vaccinating at pace”.
He said: “The US has vaccinated 59 per cent of all adults, and infections are falling, so we’d be very optimistic about the United States.
“And if we look at places like Germany and you look at France, again they’re making great progress, as is Europe.
“So we think Europe and the US certainly should be in scope for inclusion in the green list as we see the trends on vaccination and prevalence.”
Heathrow CEO, John Holland-Kaye, has also called for France, Greece and Spain to be added to the UK green list. But UK health secretary Matt Hancock is holding firm, warning that people should “certainly not” go on holiday to nations such as Spain, Italy, France and Greece because of the threat of mutant strains of Covid-19.
“People should not travel to amber or red list countries unless it’s absolutely necessary, and certainly not for holiday purposes,” he said.