Travel industry welcomes government announcement on quarantine measures
North West airports and travel agents have welcomed the Government’s lifting of its quarantine restrictions following the announcement that more than 50 countries deemed low or very low risk will be exempt from the measures from July 10.
Charlie Cornish, group chief executive of Manchester Airports Group, said: “These travel corridors will open up the chance for people to enjoy a well-earned break abroad and directly benefit the hundreds of thousands of people whose jobs depend on air travel for their livelihoods – whether they work in aviation or for the UK’s tourism and hospitality businesses, which can now welcome the first overseas visitors we will have seen for months.
“We have made our airports safe for our passengers and staff, and our airports have already started limited operations to many of these countries.
“With the quarantine requirement now removed, we look forward to safely welcoming back many more passengers in the coming weeks.
“The Government should continue to take a risk-based approach to quarantine arrangements and, where possible, build more air bridges to key tourism and business destinations with low infection rates.
“Each one will help protect jobs and preserve billions of pounds worth of economic activity in the UK.”
Liverpool John Lennon Airport also said it is looking forward to welcoming back more passengers over the coming weeks.
With a number of flights from Liverpool already having restarted and nearly 40 destinations set to be available by the end of July, passengers from across the North West and North Wales can now book a Summer holiday abroad with confidence and once again look forward to being able to fly to a host of European holiday destinations from Liverpool this Summer.
The vast majority of countries served from Liverpool are included on the Government’s safe travel list, however restrictions are due to remain for passengers arriving from Portugal, Romania and Bulgaria.
John Irving, Liverpool John Lennon Airport chief executive, said: “We naturally welcome this news and that that the UK Government has now decided to change to a risk-based approach rather than a blanket restriction.
“The lifting of the restrictions means that passengers from across the North West and North Wales can now take advantage of the convenience of flying from Liverpool knowing that will they not have to self-isolate for 14 days on their return from the majority of destinations now served from here. This news will aid the airport’s recovery and that of the travel industry as a whole.”
A popular independent travel agent announced it is reopening its offices early as holiday bookings surge now England’s quarantine restrictions are being lifted.
Claire Milby and Lisa Barnes, who co-own Travel The Globe, have experienced a surge in holiday bookings.
Lisa Barnes (left) and Claire Milby
And having worked from home throughout lockdown to help customers with all their travel queries, Claire and Lisa are now reopening their offices in Barrow and Ulverston.
Claire said: “We have just had our busiest day of bookings for the last three months. People are really keen to have a break, and they want to get their holidays booked to ensure they get the best availability at the best prices.
“There are some amazing deals out there at the moment, and people want to ensure they secure the holiday they want, before prices start to rise.
“The surge in interest we have seen shows that the demand has always been there. People were just waiting for positive news about destinations welcoming British tourists and not having to quarantine when they return to this country.”
She added: “We were already taking a lot of bookings for 2021 and even 2022, but now the holiday season is back on for 2020 people have been rushing to make bookings.”
