Flight bookings heat up after lockdown exit plans revealed

Holiday bookings surged following the announcement of a road map out of lockdown, airlines, and travel firms have said.

Airlines and travel firms said that there are bookings for the holiday which followed the announcement of a road map out of lockdown is surging. Boris Johnson exposed that hotels can reopen and foreign travel will be allowed from May 17 at the earliest due to his road map for easing the restrictions.

lockdown exit plans revealed: holidays bookings surge

The Government’s Global Travel Taskforce will reconvene to announce a report by April 12 recommending how international trips can be safely facilitated. The UK Prime Minister said it will give people time to make their summer’s plan.

Tui reported that they had had their best day of bookings in more than a month ahead of the summer, with a strong interest in Greece, Spain, and Turkey.

Thomas Cook told that bookings were “flooding in” for countries like the Dominican Republic, Greece, Cyprus, and Mexico. Also, the broadcaster reported that EasyJet has a 337 percent surge in flight bookings. There is a 630 percent jump in holiday bookings for locations like Alicante, Malaga, Palmo, Faro, and Crete.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade organisation Abta, said summer holidays will be crucial for both travel businesses whose profits have been wiped out and for millions of people who are desperate to travel again. But he forced Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use next month’s Budget to provide tailored financial support to travel agents and tour operators to enable them to come through the weeks ahead.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency said the announcement was the most wanted news for the travel sector. He also added that more consumers reassure that their 2021 summer trip can take place, or they can get a refund or refix their travel date. “They can book knowing that this summer will be even safer than last. We will need to see the finer details in the future reviews for the sector’s restart but the Prime Minister’s comments are certainly far more positive and realistic than those made by some ministers just two weeks ago,” said Mr Charles.

However, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said foreign holidays will remain banned until “everybody” has had a Covid-19 vaccine. British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said it is “critical we start looking at a way to restart travel”, adding that he is “pleased the Government has acknowledged that”. He went on: “We support a data-led approach that protects public health. We want to work with Government’s taskforce on a road map now to ensure that aviation is in a strong position to support the UK as we emerge from the pandemic.”