Following the announcement that the Canary Islands would be added back onto England’s travel corridor list, TUI has restarted holidays to the winter sun destination. Holidaymakers can jet off with TUI as soon as tomorrow.
It comes after a travel ban lasting 89 days.
Holidaymakers can now enjoy a break in the Canary Islands without the need to quarantine on their return home.
“The reintroduction of the Canary Islands is a positive step forward for our business and all our customers who wish to enjoy a well-deserved break overseas this half-term and during the winter months,” said Andrew Flintham, managing director of TUI UK and Ireland.
“We haven’t been able to take people on a TUI holiday to the Canary Islands for 89 days, when the sudden quarantine and subsequent travel advice was imposed with little notice.
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Currently, flights are only departing from London Gatwick, London Luton and Manchester, but TUI is set to add more options in the coming weeks.
The decision to add the Canary Islands back onto the travel corridor list was announced on Thursday evening by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps.
In a tweet he revealed the latest changes, saying: “Following an assessment of the latest data, the Canaries, the Maldives, Denmark and Mykonos have been ADDED to the #TravelCorridors list.
“From 4am on Sunday 25th Oct, you will no longer need to self-isolate if you arrive from those destinations.”
Despite the good news, however, TUI’s managing director says the travel corridor update is not the end for the tourism industry.
He is urging the Government to go further to help reignite tourism.
“We urge the Government to continue to work closely with the industry on airport testing so we can open up more destinations in the coming weeks,” commented Mr Flintham.
“We must move away, where possible, from the anxiety our industry faces waiting for the new list of places people can travel to each week.
“This level of uncertainty is damaging for business and all those employed in our industry.”
Rapid result airport testing trials are currently being run out of Heathrow Terminals 5 and 2.
Travellers jetting off to Italy and Hong Kong can benefit from new one-hour rapid coronavirus tests.
Holidaymakers are required to book their test in advance and foot the bill.
It is not yet known if these types of tests could become the norm for travel in the future.
However, experts in the travel industry say airport testing is the most sure way of getting travel back to some kind of normality.
According to new data by firms Oxera and Edge Health, up to 63 percent of COVID-19 cases would be identified by testing travellers on arrival at airports.
Edge Health co-founder George Batchelor believes there has been an “underestimation of the effectiveness of testing on arrival, raising serious questions about its role in informing Government policy on passenger testing.”
