Travel companies are reporting a huge jump in bookings following the latest travel announcement, which will see the much-maligned traffic light system scrapped.

Skyscanner reported a 103 per cent increase in bookings on Friday, when Transport Secretary Grant Shapps revealed the changes, compared to the previous week, and a spokesman said that they were “continuing to see the numbers go up throughout the weekend.”

Martin Nolan, Skyscanner’s traveller expert said: “It’s clear from our most recent booking figures that travellers are delighted with the latest travel news, not just for holidays and leisure travel, but also for those who will now be able to be reunited with loved ones abroad.”

TravelSupermaket reported similar trends, with demand for late summer trips to European hotspots – Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Portugal – among the most popular. Turkey, which will be removed from the red list on Wednesday, has leapt to become the website’s second-most searched for destination.

The firm cited the change in testing requirements, and subsequent savings, as another factor in demand for holidays.

Elsewhere Thomas Cook reported a 200 per cent rise in half term bookings following the announcement, with chief executive Alan French expecting it to increase further. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said they have seen “an immediate and massive surge in bookings”.

Scroll down for the latest news as it happens.

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1:00PM

How me and my banned AZ vaccine fared on a Swiss mini-break 

Despite knowing that her vaccine pass could be redundant on a holiday to Geneva, Susie Mesure decided to see what would happen anyway.

The trouble started later that day when, after a swim in the new-to-me Plage des Eaux-Vives, a public bathing spot that opened in 2020 just along from Geneva’s Jet d’Eau, we fancied popping to the Musee d’Art et d’Histoire. We thought we’d take advantage of Thursday’s late night opening and see how Ferdinand Hodler, one of Switzerland’s most famous artists and one of my friend’s favourite painters, had captured Lake Geneva on canvas, but the new Swiss rules thought otherwise.

“CERTIFICAT COVID OBLIGATOIRE,” warned a poster of a stern-looking Photoshopped dame, holding a Swiss Covid pass. As I had neither the right pass nor the equally obligatory ID card on me, I wasn’t hopeful of getting past the museum guard, who couldn’t have been more helpful. He tried, in order of decreasing optimism: the NHS barcode that proved I’d had two doses of AstraZeneca; the Swiss certificate I’d downloaded even though the “signature” was “invalid” due to my vaccine, which hasn’t been authorised for use here; and the French #TousAntiCovid app, which he’d figured was worth a try. Nothing worked.

He logged into the Geneva canton website to see if there was a way round the situation while the Swiss authorities decided if and how to accept the British-administered AZ vaccine. Upshot: I could write to someone or other but it would take them “10 to 15 days” to reply. We left, making do instead with the Henry Moore sculpture reclining on the grass opposite the museum.

Read the full story here.

Thankfully, some public swimming baths are open without the need to check vaccine passes 

Thankfully, some public swimming baths are open without the need to check vaccine passes 

Credit:
Istock Unreleased

12:46PM

No target to end social distancing in Germany

The German government has said it won’t be giving a target date for getting rid of social distancing measures as there is no certainty about how the pandemic will develop this winter.

Germany reported 3,736 new infections today and a seven-day incidence rate of 71 cases per 100,000 people – far lower than the rates for much of the UK. 

Only a small number of countries have joined Britain in removing most coronavirus restrictions so far. 

12:32PM

Beijing gets Universal Studis theme park

Universal Studios’ Beijing resort opened its doors to the public today after a two-decade wait, including delays because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The park will be Universal’s largest and its fifth resort globally, featuring areas dedicated to franchises like Kung Fu Panda and Harry Potter, and grants Beijing a major branded theme park to rival the Disney resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

One Universal Studios employee told Reuters that visitor numbers were being capped at around 10,000 on Monday because of the pandemic, but said the park has the capacity for many more.

Universal Studios Beijing 


Credit:
Andy Wong/AP Photo

12:17PM

Heathrow set to almost double airport charges

Sweeping plans by Britain’s biggest airport to raise fees for flights outside Europe leave airlines apoplectic, reports Oliver Gill.

Against a backdrop of Heathrow falling down the rankings of Europe’s busiest airports combined with huge debt levels, its officials have forged ahead with plans for sweeping changes to airport charges next year, despite regulatory opposition.

A 40-page document, seen by The Telegraph, has left airline executives apoplectic. “They are insane,” says an insider at one of Heathrow’s biggest airlines. “It’s just obnoxious.”

Holland-Kaye, Echave and the rest of Heathrow’s management board remain under extreme pressure from shareholders to squeeze the airlines for money. The airport has avoided defaulting on its mammoth debt pile by gaining waivers on lenders. The fear is, however, that bondholders’ patience will only last so long.

Under the proposals, landing charges for flights to destinations outside of Europe will almost double in 2022 from £38.33 per passenger this year to £67.86.

 Read the full story.

12:02PM

EasyJet to put 50,000 additional seats on sale

Low-cost airline EasyJet plans to add 51,000 seats to departures from the UK after seeing bookings soar after a change in England’s travel rules.

As the Telegraph reported on Friday, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to take a pre-departure test to return to the UK from non-red list countries (from October 4). The amber list has been scrapped and eight countries have been removed from the red list.

Flight bookings for the late summer season increased significantly as soon as the announcement was made on Friday, with beach resorts among top destinations for this autumn and travel in October proving most popular.

Sophie Dekkers, chief commercial officer for EasyJet, said:

Every time restrictions have been relaxed or removed we have seen pent up demand and this is no exception. We have seen a huge surge in bookings since the move by the government to disband the traffic light system, take away the pre-departure test and remove popular summer sun destinations from the Red list.

With Brits scrambling for last-minute summer sun, particularly over the October half term, we are putting on even more flights to the most popular beach hot spots to serve this added demand.

11:48AM

In pictures: Volcano erupts on La Palma

Mount Cumbre Vieja erupts 


Credit:
Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu Agency via Getty

Mount Cumbre Vieja erupts 


Credit:
Borja Suarez/Reuters

Mount Cumbre Vieja erupts 


Credit:
Borja Suarez/Reuters

Mount Cumbre Vieja erupts 


Credit:
Borja Suarez/Reuters

11:35AM

Thousands flee as lava spews from volcano on Spain’s La Palma island 

Authorities have evacuated about 5,000 people from villages in the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma as lava spews from an erupting volcano, local officials said.

The 15-meter high lava flow has already swallowed 20 houses in the village of El Paso and sections of roads, Mayor Sergio Rodriguez told TVE radio station on Monday morning.

It is now spreading through the neighbouring village of Los Llanos de Aridane where hundreds of houses are at risk, he said. “We are monitoring the trajectory of the lava,” Rodriguez said.

Since erupting on Sunday afternoon, the volcano has shot lava up hundreds meters into the air and poured flows of molten rock towards the Atlantic Ocean over a sparsely populated area of La Palma, the most northwestern island in the Canaries archipelago.

Read more: Thousands flee as lava spews from volcano on Spain’s La Palma island

11:22AM

Turkey expects influx of British travellers

Turkish travel agencies expect at least 200,000 British tourists to visit the country before the end of the year as the country is removed from the UK Government’s red list, according to the Hürriyet Daily News.

“We had expected this decision long ago. Some tour agencies in anticipation of this move had already been booking Turkey holidays,” said the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies in a statement.

The association said that there will be a school break in the UK in September and that there is strong demand from British holidaymakers.

11:11AM

Confidence returning for long-haul travel, says tour operator

Luxury tour operator Scott Dunn has told Telegraph Travel that it saw 110 per cent increase in enquiries over the weekend following the travel announcement, compared to the previous weekend.

Popular destinations included Canada, Egypt, Namibia, Oman, Tanzania, the UAE, Peru and the Maldives.

Sonia Davies, the travel firm’s chief executive, said:

We are delighted with the changes announced to the traffic light policy as well as the reduction in the size of the red list. This is another step forward to support the travel and tourism sector in the UK and also for destinations such as Oman, Sri Lanka and the Maldives which are so heavily reliant on tourism, and where UK tourists are traditionally one of their key markets. It is now imperative that [Foreign Office] advice will also be aligned with these changes.

She added: “It’s great to see confidence in bookings coming back, especially for long-haul destinations and we look forward to more countries being removed from the red list over the next few weeks.”

10:55AM

The cruises that prove the best of the Med can be found after summer 

From island hopping in Croatia to exploring the Holy Land, there’s no better tonic than a cruise on the big blue as we slide into autumn, writes Sara Macefield.

The Mediterranean may be synonymous with summer holidays but, when it comes to cruises, the next few months make for a glorious holiday at sea. The fierce heat of summer has subsided and the heaving crowds of tourists have thinned out. Excursions on shore coincide with the grape harvest, and the first press of olives. The high temperatures of peak season give way to cool, languid days packed with flavour for tourists.

But the best part of an autumnal Med voyage is, really, that there’s no such thing as bad weather. Instead, it’s all about picking the best spot on the map and plotting a course.

Here are the best cruises to squeeze the last drops of summer from southern Europe.

Supetar, on the Dalmatian island of Brac, is a feature of cruise itineraries

Supetar, on the Dalmatian island of Brac, is a feature of cruise itineraries

Credit:
Dado Daniela/Moment RF

10:41AM

Lava flow on La Palma

The eruption of a volcano in the Spanish island of La Palma has destroyed an estimated 100 homes as molten lava flows in two streams from eight separate fissures that have appeared since Sunday afternoon in the Cumbre Vieja natural park.

10:27AM

Travel ban and lockdown for Laos

Laos has locked down its capital Vientiane and barred travel between Covid-hit provinces, as cases soared to a record high.

The communist country appeared to have escaped the brunt of the pandemic in 2020, and by March this year had reported fewer than 60 cases – though the low number was due in part to limited testing. But a surge since mid-April has seen its caseload steadily increase, and on Saturday the country reported 467 new cases of community infection, its highest ever single-day tally.

The mayor of Vientiane, where the bulk of the cases were detected, declared a strict lockdown on Sunday for two weeks, ordering residents to stay in their homes unless obtaining food, medicine or making their way to a hospital.

Travel between seven other hard-hit provinces is banned, while entry into Vientiane requires a quarantine of 14 days.

10:16AM

Sydney cases fall as curbs ease in virus hotspots

Australia’s New South Wales(NSW) has today reported its lowest rise in daily Covid-19 cases in more than three weeks as some lockdown restrictions were eased in Sydney, the state capital, amid higher vaccination levels.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 935 new cases had been detected in NSW, the lowest daily tally since Aug. 27, and down from 1,083 on Sunday. The state reported four more deaths.

Nearly half of Australia’s 25 million people is in lockdown after the delta variant spread rapidly in Sydney and Melbourne forcing officials there to abandon a Covid-zero target and shift to rapid vaccinations to ease curbs.

Kyeemagh Beach in Sydney today

Kyeemagh Beach in Sydney today

Credit:
Joel Carrett/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

With 53 per cent of NSW’s adult population now fully vaccinated, some restrictions on gatherings were relaxed on Monday in 12 of the worst-hit suburbs in Sydney’s west. Time limits for outdoor exercise were lifted, while the fully vaccinated people can gather outside in groups of five.

Neighbouring Victoria state, which includes Melbourne, logged one new death and 567 new infections, its biggest daily rise this year, a day after revealing its roadmap back to freedom when vaccinations reach 70 per cent, expected around October 26.

Read more:  Travel to Australia: when the border could reopen, and latest Covid rules

10:02AM

Fiji aiming for November tourism restart

Fijiplans to reopen for international tourists by November, aiming to rebuild a pandemic-devastated economy while battling a delta-variant outbreak.

“Our goal is to free our country – and our economy – from the rut of the pandemic,” Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said in a statemen.

Once 80 per cent of Fiji’s eligible population is vaccinated, it will offer quarantine-free travel to visitors from a “green list” of locations. Of Fiji’s eligible population, 66 per cent is now fully vaccinated and Bainimarama predicts the country’s target will be met by November 1.

Fiji’s green list includes Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore and parts of the United States. Visitors would need to be fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 prior to departure.

Read more: Which countries are on the UK’s green list for travel

9:50AM

Lockdown in Auckland to stay for another fortnight

New Zealand’s largest city Auckland will remain in a Covid-19 lockdown for at least another two weeks, although some restrictions will be eased, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today.

Ardern said the city of two million would move down to level three on New Zealand’s four-tier coronavirus response system by late Tuesday, even as authorities remain committed to eliminating a Delta-variant outbreak.

“We’re moving now because the advice we have is that we do not have widespread, undetected transmission in Auckland,” she told reporters. “If everyone continues to play their part, we can continue stamping out (the virus).”

The change means stay-at-home orders will remain in place but some businesses, such as takeaway food outlets, can open using contactless delivery.

New Zealand imposed a nationwide lockdown on August 17 when the first case of the highly transmissible Delta variant was found in the community. The cluster has been concentrated in Auckland and the rest of the country moved out of lockdown earlier this month.

9:34AM

PM won’t need to ‘bang tables’ over US travel ban

There will be “no need” for Boris Johnson to “bang any tables” as he looks to persuade Joe Biden to restart travel between the UK and US, a minister has said. 

The Prime Minister is expected to make an “impassioned” case for why the US President should lift his travel ban by allowing fully vaccinated people in the UK to travel directly into America.

James Cleverly, the Foreign Office minister, told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Obviously international travel is incredibly important for the UK. We want to get to situation where Brits can travel to one of our closest partners in the world.”

Mr Johnson will be making the case that “travel to and from UK is safe, it is important to us and as a strong international partners it is what we should be looking to do”, he added, stressing that the recent Ausuk deal demonstrated that the two countries were “very much on the same page”. 

He added: “I have no doubt there will be no need to bang any tables to get the point across.”

9:17AM

The new green list countries which are actually open to Britons 

Eight countries have been plucked from the red list but entry rules differ for each. 

Egypt, the Maldives and Oman offer up enticing options for winter sun and fully vaccinated UK tourists can visit quarantine-free. Turkey is also open to Britons and will be removed from the hotel quarantine list – those who act swiftly will catch the tail end of the summer season before temperatures fall.

Kenya and Sri Lanka could also be feasible. Kenya imposes quarantine on UK travellers, but this could be carried out in a safari camp; Sri Lanka requires double-vaxxed travellers to wait in a quarantine hotel for a negative arrival test result. Pakistan is open to UK travellers with a negative test (plus rapid test on arrival), while Bangladesh requires a 14-day quarantine.

Find out more about the relevant country rules here.

9:03AM

Watch: What the new rules mean for your autumn holiday options

Hoping to book an overseas holiday before the end of the year? My colleague Greg Dickinson shares his advice following the travel announcement last week.

Placeholder image for youtube video: I9YT0GXFSMM

8:53AM

Latest advice: Travel to the US

On the topic of the United States, our destination experts have the latest travel information and advice.

A ban on non-essential travel from Europe to the US makes it very difficult to cross the pond right now – but could this change soon?

Read more: Travel to the US: When the UK ban could lift, and latest Covid restrictions

8:47AM

Boris Johnson: ‘Lift travel ban and let Britons back into America’ 

Boris Johnson will push Joe Biden to change Covid-19 travel rules and let Britons fly to America when they meet on Tuesday in the White House for the first time.

The Prime Minister will make an “impassioned” case for why the US President should lift his travel ban by allowing fully vaccinated people in the UK to travel directly into America.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Dame Barbara Janet Woodward, the UK's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, after landing in New York

Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Dame Barbara Janet Woodward, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, after landing in New York

Credit:
Stefan Rousseau/PA

Mr Biden’s failure to ease restrictions – despite both leaders pledging to take action when they met at the G7 summit in June – has frustrated Whitehall and left UK businesses despairing.

The Prime Minister flew to New York on Sunday, kick-starting a four-day US visit where he will attend the UN General Assembly before his first White House trip since entering Number 10 in July 2019.

Read more: Boris Johnson to tell Joe Biden: ‘Lift travel ban and let Britons back into America’

8:35AM

How to holiday in Turkey

No other Mediterranean destination offers the visitor as much variety as Turkey, writes our destination expert Terry Richardson. And with the country due to officially come off the red list this week, now’s the time to book a holiday.

Such a remarkably diverse topography, climate and flora and fauna means Turkey offers every kind of holiday experience you could wish for – with warm temperatures well into October. To relax, lounge by the beach or pool at an all-inclusive near Mediterranean Antalya, or cruise the beautiful Turquoise Coast aboard a traditional wooden sailing boat (gulet).

Feeling more active? The Turquoise Coast and its hinterland is perfect for kayaking, scuba-diving, canyoning, mountain-biking and hiking the waymarked Carian and Lycian trails. Accommodation ranges from simple, family-run pensions in places like Dalyan, Kaş and Patara to luxurious hotels in chic Bodrum and golfer’s favourite, Belek – and everything in between, so there’s something for every budget. 

Read more: Turkey is finally off the red list – here are the best holidays on offer

Whether you want budget beaches, high culture or family fun, there’s no time to lose

Whether you want budget beaches, high culture or family fun, there’s no time to lose

Credit:
Getty

8:24AM

Jet2 see ‘phenomenal’ reaction to travel announcement

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have reported a 250 per cent rise in booking following the Government’s travel announcement last week that saw plans for the ‘traffic light’ system to be dropped, double-jabbed travellers from ‘safe’ countries no longer forced to take any sort of test before they get on a flight home from overseas, and, from later in October, only a lateral flow on their second day back in the UK – rather than a costly PCR test.

Chief executive Steve Heapy said: 

There has been a phenomenal reaction from customers since yesterday’s announcement with bookings spiking by more than 250 per cent. People are clearly desperate to get away for some summer sun, as the demand for holidays in the next few weeks has been huge.

Turkey is proving “exceptionally popular”, he added, and half term dates “have also seen a surge in bookings for families.”

8:11AM

A busy Friday…

Here’s a chance to fresh your memory after a busy Friday afternoon, which saw Transport Secretary Grant Shapps unveil a whole range of changes.

Here’s our live coverage from the day.

7:59AM

Good morning

Welcome to our live coverage of the latest travel news. Here’s a reminder of the top stories from the end of last week:

  • Eight countries will move off the red list on September 22
  • Pre-departure tests for return to England will be scrapped for fully vaccinated (from Oct 4)
  • Day 2 tests will be replaced with lateral flow tests for double jabbed (later in Oct)
  • Traffic light system will be replaced with single red list from Oct 4
  • Rules for the ‘rest of the world’ will be determined by a traveller’s vaccination status

Follow us here throughout the day for travel news as it happens.

Source: telegraph UK

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