Travel news: Holiday scam warning following lockdown easing

Holidaymakers are thrilled to be going abroad once more with one saying all he wanted was to “open the doors of our villa and look out to sea and just go, ‘Ahhh’.”

Kevin Nash, 66, and his wife Pauline, 54, from Essex, were on their way to Portugal from Gatwick airport on Monday.

Ms Nash said the second thing the couple wanted to do was “then get a cocktail”. She added: “It’s just the freedom again to be able to do this – and it feels safe.”

Restaurant manager Amanda Brown said it felt “amazing” to be able to see her boyfriend, who lives in Portugal, after eight months apart and six flight cancellations, as she boarded the first flight to Faro early on Monday morning.

Ms Brown, 48, said: “I’m so excited – I didn’t sleep properly last night. So yeah, it’s amazing, I love it, it’s really good to see everything going back to some kind of normality.

“I’m planning to go to the beach and seeing my boyfriend. I haven’t seen him since October.”

She added: “I found it quite easy going through the airport, no queues or anything really.

“There’s a bit of anxiety on the build-up because obviously you have to take a test before you go, it was a bit anxious waiting for the result to come back through.”

Additional reporting by PA

From today, the NHS app can be used as a “vaccine passport”, as it will include a user’s vaccination status, according to the transport secretary.

Grant Shapps tweeted: “As of TODAY, the NHS app shows your COVID-19 Vaccine Record. Note: this is the main NHS app which contains your private medical records (once you request & your GP provides access) not the separate Covid proximity app.”

The app is available for download on iPhone and Android devices.

This should allowed fully vaccinated Brits to travel abroad more easily to the numerous countries which have pledged to allow in inoculated travellers without restrictions. However, it is dependent on the country in question recognising the NHS app as valid proof.

Strangely strange, but oddly normal: the first holiday flight from London to anywhere in 19 weeks had some surprises: Stansted airport was locked and closed until 5am, and sadly a number of people had the distressing experience of being denied boarding because they had not jumped through the right testing hoops.

Touching down in Faro, though, felt just right: the seductive mosaic of islands and lagoons as the overture to arrival in the airport serving the Algarve. The tourist board was out in force, handing out souvenir facemasks and sanitiser to the new arrivals. Within 10 minutes I was sipping a coffee and anticipating the joys of exploring fishing villages strung along the coast, the hilly Algarve hinterland and a cold Sarges beer with the sunset. Bliss delayed is bliss intensified.

Police and the UK’s anti-fraud team are warning people to beware scammers who may prey on those trying to book a holiday abroad.

Pauline Smith, head of Action Fraud, said: “We are all more eager than ever to go on a holiday and relax with family and friends, following the coronavirus pandemic.

“However, criminals will stop at nothing when it comes to defrauding innocent people out of a well-deserved break and their hard-earned cash.

“Criminals are increasingly using more sophisticated ways to trick their victims, which is why it’s important that we all do our research when booking a holiday and making travel arrangements.

“Regardless of whether you’re planning on travelling abroad, or going on a domestic holiday this year, remember, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Facebook is a common attack vector, Action Fraud said, while Airbnb and Booking.com were also mentioned by victims it surveyed.

The Metropolitan Police said: “Criminals can approach you online, over the phone or via email, offering cheap deals to tempt you into booking a holiday with them. In reality, this could be a scam.”

To read ABTA’s guide on avoiding scams, click here.

Plane tickets will go up in price next year, even though currently they are very low, according to the chief executive of RyanAir.

Michael O'Leary said fares will be more expensive in 2022 due to a one-quarter reduction in the number of available seats compared to before the pandemic due to airlines reducing their operations.

"There's no doubt in my mind that prices will rise, particularly during the peaks of the bank holiday weekends, the school holiday travel period," he told BBC Breakfast.

"We will be urging people to book very early because I think there's less seats and pricing will be higher."

He claimed flights "will never be cheaper" than they are currently, as "all the airlines are running with much lower advanced bookings than we have ever had before because of the travel restrictions".

He added: "This summer there are going to be great travel bargains."

Additional reporting by PA

British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle says the airline has received "an awful lot of interest" from people planning trips "to reunite with their loved ones".

Speaking from Heathrow Airport, he told the BBC: "There's a human cost to this, in that a lot of people have been separated from friends and family for over 12 months now.

"That's a segment that we see grow, and a lot of people who are here today are taking part in the opportunity to reunite after a long period of separation."

Britons are thrilled at being able to visit Portugal on holiday as restrictions ease in England.

Matthew Bolden, arriving at Lisbon airport on Monday, told reporters: "It's fantastic. The feeling is unbelievable. We got the sun, the people, the beaches, the bars. Can't wait."

"It feels amazing. Happy, everyone's happy. We were on the first flight out of the UK," added Kim, 27, who arrived from Manchester at Faro airport, where Algarve tourism office workers handed out packs of hand sanitiser and masks.

Tourism businesses hope the return of Britons, who added €3.2bn (£2.76bn) to Portugal's economy in 2019, will provide a desperately-needed boost to the sector, which ordinarily accounts for 15 per cent of the country's GDP.

"We were massively affected by the pandemic. It was so sad to see the arrivals gate empty. But today it's better. It's a breath of fresh air," said Maria Joao, 55, whose shop in Lisbon airport sells drinks and snacks.

Visitors from England must present evidence of a negative coronavirus test taken 72 hours before boarding their flights to Portugal and there is no need to quarantine for Covid-19 when returning home.

Portuguese doctor Rute Castelhano, who has been fighting the pandemic in the UK, was another of the arriving passengers, exhausted but over-the-moon to see her parents at Lisbon airport after months apart.

"I'm so happy to see my family again," she said through hugs and tears. "It's great to be back home."

Tourists from European countries with fewer than 500 infections per 100,000 people were also allowed in for the first time on Monday.

Portugal has allowed restaurants and shops to reopen, but some capacity limitations remain and restaurants must close at 10.30pm.

Masks must be worn while walking on the beach. Nightclubs and indoor bars which only sell alcohol are still closed.

Additional reporting by Reuters

News photographers have been out in force capturing the first flights for holidaymakers to foreign countries in months.

Some travellers have raised concerns about queueing and social distancing at airports.

Something to consider when weighing your plans for travel. Experts have today voiced fears that Britons travelling outside the UK could spread this infectious new variant still further.

Boris Johnson has dropped a promise to reveal this month whether social distancing will end, blaming the “new threat” from the Indian variant of Covid-19.

Only a week ago, the prime minister said he expected to scrap the “1 metre-plus rule” – and pledged to give couples planning weddings plenty of notice if the restriction will be lifted on 21 June.

But his spokesman pulled the deadline for setting out plans by the end of May, saying: “We can’t be definitive at this point, because of the variant that has been identified.”

Back to the USSR: the hassle and complexity involved in even a short hop to Portugal is at least as bad as travelling to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, writes Simon Calder.​

Within hours of the UK government unlocking leisure travel after a 19-week ban on holidays, 30 flights departed from eight airports across England to Portugal – the only major European country on the “green list” of quarantine-free destinations.

Fares for the first Ryanair departure from Stansted to Faro were cut to £22 in a bid to lure passengers on board, but in the end only 150 of the 189 seats were filled.