Jet2 holds off on restarting its flights and holidays for another week
Travel group Jet2, which was due to resume its flying operations on 24 June 2021, says it will now restart flights and holidays on 1 July 2021 instead.
It has responded to the UK Government’s decision to remove Portugal from the Green List of countries judged as being relatively safe for holidaymakers to travel to, while adding more countries to the Red List to try and avoid importing more COVID-19 variants.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Leeds-headquartered Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said the business shared the concerns and frustrations of its customers and travel agency partners.
He added: “The UK Government has repeatedly stated it is making decisions based on infection and vaccination rates, yet many destinations continue to be left off the Green List despite having low infection rates and high vaccination rates.
“When you apply the Government’s own criteria for making decisions about travel, we simply cannot understand why more destinations across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands are not allowed to open to UK holidaymakers.
“We are now calling for complete openness and transparency when it comes to the data, so customers and the industry can really understand what is driving these decisions.
“We agree that public health must be the number one priority. However, despite all the evidence and data showing that travel can restart safely and at scale, the UK continues to remain largely grounded whilst the rest of Europe opens up.”
Jet2 will restart flights and holidays on 1 July 2021 (excluding its Jersey programme which will restart on 24 June 2021).
In addition to that, because Turkey currently remains on the Red List, the company has decided to restart flights and holidays to Turkey on 22 July 2021.
It says for any destinations currently on the Amber List, it is allowing customers to amend their booking free of charge if they are due to travel between 1 July and 21 July 2021.
Jet2 says where customers are affected by any programme changes outlined above, it will automatically cancel their booking with a full refund, and its travel experts will be in touch to help them rebook their summer getaway.
Heapy added: “Our customers want nothing more than to get away on their much-needed holidays and our colleagues want nothing more than to give customers the holiday they deserve.
“We know international travel can restart safely, so we urge the Government to urgently reconsider its approach and work with the industry to help us achieve that.”
