Who’ll t ake a month off for a two-week trip?

FURIOUS travellers last night expressed their anger at the quarantine plan, amid fears it would mean taking a whole month off work for a two-week holiday and confusion about refunds if trips are cancelled as a result.

Twitter user Matthew Gannon summed up the concerns of many, saying: ‘ So I’ve paid £ 600 for a holiday, already got my time off work. Now when I come home from Spain to a virus ridden country (the worst in Europe) I have to pay for a test, quarantine for two weeks or risk getting sacked and fined? How many people will now have to cancel?’

And consumer experts warned that the new proposals will leave families now looking to cancel trips in limbo because it is unclear if refund policies will cover the enforced post-holiday quarantine.

Emma Coulthurst, of holiday price comparison site Travel Supermarket, advised against cancelling, explaining: ‘Unless it is for a medical reason and they are covered by their travel insurance, they are likely to lose the majority of their money.

‘They need to wait until they are told that their flight or holiday is cancelled. Once holidaymakers have been notified by the operator that their trip is cancelled, they are entitled, with a package holiday, to rebook for another date, and many operators are offering incentives to encourage people to do so.

‘Or they will be entitled to a full refund on a package holiday under the Package Travel Regulations.’

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps failed to offer clarification on cancelling trips during yesterday’s Downing Street briefing, saying only that the Foreign Office was still advising against all international travel.

Some airlines, including Wizz Air, t he budget carrier t o eastern

Europe, have resumed certain flights, while hotel owners on the continent remain hopeful of reopening towards the end of the summer. But travel experts believe the new rules will prove catastrophic for the industry.

John McEwan, former Thomas Cook managing director and exchairman of travel association ABTA, said ‘This is going to be a nightmare for holidaymakers.

‘ The reality is that I can’t see holidays picking up before August at the earliest. It’s probably going to be even later and that’s assuming the two-week [quarantine] window is lifted by then.

‘ This is also going to have a dramatic effect on all suppliers in the selling of holidays, including airlines, tour operators, travel agents and hotels.

‘Many companies will fail, especially when the furlough support ends, and there will be wide-scale redundancies in the sector.

‘This is terrible timing, coming on top of the job losses announced by BA, Virgin and easyJet.

‘ No one understands why the quarantine wasn’t brought in February or March to contain the spread of the virus. To do it now suggests the Government made a mistake and is trying to rectify matters but with potentially greater economic consequences.’