If you have been following the news closely, you will know that Boris Johnson has stated that he will reveal more about when international holidays may be allowed, following on from the UK’s gradual exit of lockdown.
Under the recent roadmap to recovery announcement, it seemed that foreign holidays may not be allowed until 17 May at the earliest, but recent reports of rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Europe may see this date pushed back again.
Earlier this year, the Governments Global Travel Taskforce, led by the Health Secretary and the transport Secretary, were expected to report back on April 12th – the same day that retail and hospitality venues are also set to reopen. However, it seems that this date has now been moved forward a week – to April 5th.
The aim of the task force is to examine the number of COVID-19 cases in both the United Kingdom and abroad. They will then make recommendations as to when it may be safe for international travel to resume, and the rules that should be put into place surrounding that.
Will summer holidays be allowed?
From the 29th March, it has been illegal for anyone in the UK to leave the country – without an essential reason to do so.
There is no indication either as to when holidays will be allowed again. If cases of coronavirus spike in Europe, then summer holidays may be blocked completely.
At the moment, the number of confirmed cases in the UK is dropping rapidly, while the number in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey are rising.
The vaccination schedule across Europe is also well behind the UK, with the EU administering vaccine doses to around 14% of the total population, compared to around 50% in the UK.
However, the travel industry has really struggled since the start of lockdown, and so the pressure will be on the Government to allow international holidays in the summer.
If summer holidays are allowed again, there will probably be certain obligations in place that you will have to fulfil before being allowed to leave the UK. One of these is likely to be proving that you are fit to fly, through the use of a Fit to Fly certificate – which is available on a negative result from our COVID-19 PCR Test.
