LONDON – Britons were warned not to book summer holidays abroad by government ministers as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in parts of Europe soar, sending travel and airline stocks down by as much as eight percent on Monday.
Foreign holidays are currently banned in the United Kingdom. Under the government’s four-stage roadmap for easing pandemic restrictions, they could be allowed to resume from May 17 at the earliest, although it could be later than that.
Europe’s airlines and travel sector are now bracing for a second lost summer, with rebound hopes increasingly challenged by Europe’s slow and chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
A second summer of restricted travel will place airlines and travel companies under renewed financial strain, after they’ve taken on huge debts to survive the last 12 months of lockdowns and holiday bans.(Reuters)
