the times | Monday May 2 2022 3
News
Britons are planning holidays later than
ever before as they seek to limit the risk
of disruption.
Travel agents and airlines are report-
ing that holidaymakers are booking
holidays only a couple of months before
departure as they monitor destinations’
coronavirus policies.
Passengers are also reducing the
number of short trips they take and opt-
ing instead for one longer break, partly
to reduce their air miles but also to
avoid Covid-19 bureaucracy.
Members of Advantage Travel Part-
nership, Britain’s biggest consortium of
travel agents, said that 40 per cent of all
bookings were now for travel within the
next 12 weeks.
Before the pandemic, the majority of
Britons booked summer holidays in the
first quarter of the year, especially dur-
ing the January “peaks” window, usual-
ly at least six months before departure.
There was no post-Christmas surge this
year as the Omicron variant surged
around the world, closing borders at the
turn of the year.
Kelly Cookes, Advantage’s leisure
director, said that the trend for
last-minute bookings was expected to
continue into the summer because of
uncertainty.
“It’s completely different from the
pattern that we would have seen pre-
pandemic,” she told The Times. “At the
moment it is absolutely the case people
book and depart quickly because they
then feel like there’s less chance of
things changing and then not being
able to travel as planned.”
Cookes believes the last-minute
nature of bookings will be a short-term
trend with normality returning in
about 2024 as consumers’ habits revert
to pre-pandemic norms.
She said: “We need this period of sta-
bility where we continue to see restric-
tions being scrapped. We still have quite
a few of our key destinations where you
do have regulations, such as testing,
which is always going to be a deterrent
for customers. We need to see more
destinations scrapping [all rules] to
help build confidence.”
Bookings for the May half-term
holidays are down by 5 per cent com-pared with 2019, although the number
is expected to surpass pre-pandemic
levels by the middle of the month.
It came as Tim Alderslade, the chief
executive of Airlines UK, which repre-
sents British carriers, said airlines had
been forced to “plan summer blind” at
the mercy of ever-changing restric-
tions. “We are incredibly relieved
where we are now,” he told the Advan-
tage conference in Madeira. “We all
want to put Covid behind us now al-
though there are still a number of chal-
lenges, not least sustainability but alsogetting through the summer with
labour shortages.”
The International Air Transport
Association expects that airline pas-
senger numbers will return to pre-pan-
demic levels by 2024.
Airlines and agents are incredulous
at comments by John Holland-Kaye,
chief executive of Heathrow, who said
that the present surge in bookings was
a “bubble” that would burst and that
Americans thought “London is under
attack” because there is a war in
Europe. Critics say that the airport istrying to boost its chances of the Civil
Aviation Authority allowing it to signif-
icantly increase its fees levied on pas-
sengers. An announcement on the five-
year deal is expected in the summer.
“It’s all just so cynical,” an industry
source said. “A man stranded on the
moon could see what they’re trying to
do. Nobody else in UK aviation is talk-
ing down their own sector like this —
literally nobody. It’s hugely disappoint-
ing when we’ve spent two years in the
trenches together battling Covid and
now they do this.”Bluebell trail The professional mountain biker Morgane Such took advantage of the best of the bank holiday weekend weather, riding through woodland near Newport, south Wales. Five-day forecast, page 45
ANDREW LLOYDBritons leave it late for a great escape
Ben Clatworthy
Transport Correspondent, Madeira
Nation by nation: the rules
spain
Adults Must be fully
vaccinated or have
recovered from Covid in
the past six months to
enter. Latest jab must
have been given within
270 days of travel. No
tests or forms required.
Children No rules for
under-12s. Unvaccinated
children aged 12 to 17
can take PCR test within
three days of travel.
Masks for public
transport onlyfrance
Adults No tests or
forms for the fully
vaccinated but anyone
aged 12 and over who is
not must take a PCR
test within three days of
travel or a lateral flow
test within two days.Children No rules for
under-12s.
Masks for public
transport onlyitaly
Adults No tests or
forms for the fully
vaccinated or for those
who have recovered
from Covid in the past
six months. Latest jab
must have been given
within 270 days of
travel. Unvaccinated
travellers aged six and
over must take a PCR
test within three days of
travel or a lateral flow
test within two days.
Children No rules for
those under six.
Masks For public
transport, cinemas,
theatres and indoor
events.greece
No travel rules in place
for holidaymakers,
regardless of
vaccination status.
Masks for all indoor
public spaces.portugal
Adults No tests for the
vaccinated or those
who have recovered
from Covid in the past
180 days. Latest jab
must have been given
within 270 days of
travel. Unvaccinated
travellers aged 12 and
over must take either a
PCR within three days
of travel or a lateral flow
test within one day.
Children No rules for
under-12s.
Masks For public
transport only.Delays in applying for
passports may cost UK
holidaymakers more
than £1.1 billion in
cancelled trips, a new
report by the Centre
for Economics and
Business Research
(Cebr) has said. The
Passport Office is
facing a backlash from
holidaymakers unable
to renew documents in
time for holidays.
There is a backlog of
700,000 applications.
Last month the agency
issued more than a
million passports, a 13
per cent increase on700,000 backlog for
passport applications
the previous record.
The Cebr report
came as officials said
the agency was
ramping up the
number of fast track
appointments and also
extending opening
hours at its seven sites
across the UK.
The report said:
“Now that
international travel has
largely normalised, the
number of people
applying for passport
renewals has surged
which, combined with
various reported
inefficiencies at the
HM Passport Office,
has created significantdelays. The potential
losses to households
are substantial. Cebr
estimates that the
cumulative loss for UK
consumers stands at
£1.1 billion, due to
holiday cancellations.”
After two years of
lockdowns and severe
travel restrictions,
there is significant
pent-up demand for
overseas travel. Data
from the VisitBritain
Covid-19 Consumer
Sentiment Tracker
shows that more than
two in five people are
planning an overseas
trip in the coming 12
months. Travel agents
have said that the
“mess” at the Passport
Office threatens to
undermine the
recovery of
international travel.Ben Clatworthy