‘Green list’ flight prices taking off
THE cost of flights to some of the most popular holiday destinations soared last night, ahead of today’s government announcement of its travel green list.
Prices to Portugal’s resorts more than doubled in two days, following suggestions it could be on the quarantine-free list when the ban on foreign travel is lifted from May 17. It is the only big European holiday destination with a chance of inclusion on the green list, to be announced this afternoon by Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary.
Ministers on the Cabinet’s Covid operations committee were due to meet today to decide which countries should be red, amber or green, based on their vaccination rates, prevalence of Covid and its variants, and their capacity for analysing the genome of the virus.
Government sources said the list would contain a “handful” of countries, many of which would still have travel restrictions or even be shut to tourists. However, it did not stop a surge in demand for flights, pushing up prices.
British Airways was last night charging £530 for a flight from Heathrow to the Algarve on May 17, compared with £234 for the same route on Tuesday. A Ryanair flight from Stansted to Lisbon on May 17 was £152, compared with £15 on May 16. And easyjet was charging £234 for a flight from Luton to the Algarve on May 17, when it was just £73 the previous day. Most European popular holiday destinations, including Spain, Greece, France and Italy, were expected to be amber, requiring returning travellers to quarantine for 10 days and pay for PCR tests on days two and eight. Mr Shapps was expected to say that the green list of countries would only grow following reviews at three weeks and six weeks.
A government source said: “It is about a slow and cautious return to travel. Just because our citizens have been vaccinated doesn’t mean they don’t have to follow other people’s rules.”
Australia and New Zealand will remain shut to foreign passport holders even if they make the green list because of their near-zero infection rates.