Dear Reader,

A FRIEND suggests that easyJet should just have done with it and shove us all in the hold — now that it’s introducing even more baggage charges.

Meanwhile, Heathrow wants to introduce a new £5 ‘kiss and fly’ drop-off charge to stop people being driven to the airport’s terminals; and Ryanair has placed an order for 210 Boeing 737 Max planes, which have been grounded since the spring of 2019 after two crashes within five months.

Then a reader from Sheffield calls to say that Confirm, a covid-testing company which boasts how ‘typically’ its PCR result certificates are received within 24 hours of a test — and which is recommended by, among others, easyJet and Jet2 — failed to send her and her husband their results for which they paid £75 each.

They were due to fly out to the Canary Islands yesterday and so have been forced to cancel their long-awaited holiday.

Confirm now says on its website — above a big picture of a happy couple holding their swab test result certificates — that it has, well, run out of swabs.

Never mind. We can always look to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to boost morale by reminding us that we’re a ‘better country’ than all others.

The good news? At last, travel restrictions slowly are being lifted following news of an imminent vaccine. Perhaps Boris could be right in saying that it will be a ‘different world’ by next summer.

We don’t have to wait until then to enjoy the wacky world of Dubai, which we feature as our cover story. The desert city is desperate to have us and you won’t have to self-isolate on your return. There are some promising deals, too.

You may have to wait longer to enjoy Italy without restrictions but, when the time comes, we think touring Tuscany (pictured), pages 66 and 67, on an electric bike will take some beating.

I had an e-bike a few years ago and loved it — perfect for when the terrain is an uphill struggle. And we’ve all been familiar with that during this wretched year.