As almost everybody will be aware, Luton Airport had a huge fire in their multistorey car park at the beginning of this month. 

 

This car park happens to be the one that has the £5.00 drop off/collect zone for their customers and passengers. 

 

For years, Luton Airport had the worst drop-off/collect, and only a few months ago, after a year or so of construction they opened (in fairness) a brilliantly thought out and constructed area, which worked very well. 

 

Then, along come the fire, which has destroyed 1200 cars, and the car park structure. 

 

We are very happy to see the return of some customers, and it is so nice to be taking people to and from the airports again. 

 

It really has been a terrible 20 months for most trades and businesses, with aviation been one of the hardest hit. 

 

Due to the huge drop in passengers through the airports, the businesses of course need to see some financial improvements in their profits and revenues. One method they are now implementing is the "Drop off/pick up fee" 

 

Heathrow and Gatwick are the last of the major airports to introduce this charge. The first was Luton, at £2.00 (about 8 years ago) closely followed by Stanstead, Birmingham, East Midlands and Bristol. 

Unfortunately and probably inevitably, Heathrow Airport are the latest airport to introduce a DROP off charge at all terminals. 

 

This new charge will start this October and will be the princely sum of £5.00. This is the same as Gatwick, Luton and East Midlands Airport. 

 

Can you believe Stansted are even more expensive ??? 

 

With aviation been hit so hard by covid, the knock on effects for the airports has been immense. Footfall down by as much as 95% some months. Although air travel is starting to make a gradual and slow return, there is still a VERY long way to get back to pre covid levels. 

 

The airports are hoping this charge will help rescue some of their losses. 

May 31st 2021 was Heathrow’s 75th birthday. This is a special anniversary for the UK’s and Europe’s busiest airport (before Covid hit), as they celebrate 75 years since opening as a commercial operating hub. 

Before it became the Heathrow we know today, it was a very small airfield (similar in size to say, Cranfield airport) and was called The Great West Aerodrome. This opened in 1929, in between the two world wars. 

Today marks 75 years since we became a commercial airport. Despite the most difficult year in our history, we're using this milestone as a chance to reflect on the journey we've undertaken and look ahead at what the next 75 could bring. #Heathrow75 

 

So, the UK Government are now on their next step of the roadmap out of Covid 19 and hopefully back to some sort of normality. 

They have announced their traffic light system, which as you might have already worked out, will be red, amber and green ! 

 

The red list countries are really countries they DON’T want you to travel to or from. If you MUST, then on your return you will have to quarantine for 10 days at a government hotel at your expense, approx. £1750 per person. 

 

Amber list means you need to self isolate at your home for 10 days on your return, along with covid test and release if you wish to finish early 

The green list means you don’t need to quarantine or self isolate on your return, although you still need to pay for covid tests. 

 

The countries on it are Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Israel, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira. 

 

The UK vaccine roll out continues to be a great success, and credit where credit is due. 

 

The UK government involved the military and their planning expertise has come up trumps. What an amazing success story. 

 

With lockdown easing and case rates and thankfully death rates declining, the 17th May is fast approaching. This is the date on the road map when some foreign travel may be allowed 

 

Of course there will be stipulations and caveats, however the traffic light system should make the decision on which country to visit fairly straight forward . 

 

The next blog I hope will list the green countries. So many unconfirmed reports are suggesting most of Europe will be open and others are saying only 8 eu countries. Almost all reports suggest America will be open along with Australia. 

 

All we can hope for is that safe and convenient travel reopens around the world. This will benefit the global economy and people's businesses and of course peoples mental health. 

 

So please continue to be wise and sensible and let's hope coronavirus continues to be driven out of people's lives. 

 

Let's get moving... 

 

PPTmk 

At the time of writing, we are all hoping to hear some concrete news tomorrow (Monday 12th April) from Boris Johnson, regarding the possible return of international travel. Whilst the media have reported the traffic light system, we really will have to wait and see. 

 

HOWEVER there is some very positive news from America. Americans have resumed flying as passenger numbers have recorded through March and into April above one million passengers a day !  

 

This is such a promising sign for airlines around the world, as it is about 65% of pre covid levels. This proves that people still need or want to travel. 

After a slow start, people around the world are getting their first and second jabs. 

At the time of writing, TRAVEL ABROAD FROM THE UK IS NOT ALLOWED UNTIL 17TH MAY AT THE EARLIEST, WITH A SMALL NUMBER OF EXCEPTIONS, which need to be declared if you are leaving the UK. 

 

JetsGo Holidays, who specialise in UK holidays to Mallorca, are set to resume operations to the island, from the middle of June 2021. This “late” date is in order to cover for any changes to the roadmap dates. 

We are now hearing that Greece are making plans for tourists to return, with very competitive pricing and clarity regarding a lack of quarantine for tourists when they arrive, so long as they have had the vaccine and/or a negative covid test. The Greek tourism ministers have been in talks with the UK Government a while. I must say the Greeks seem very switched on regarding this matter. Tourism is vital for Greece and they all seem to be working towards a common goal. 

Following the news of the UK Governments lockdown roadmap, TUI are cancelling all holidays from the UK until May 16. Foreign travel could resume from May 17, subject to a UK Government review in April. 

The cancellations also apply to departures from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Holidays departing from the ROI are cancelled up to April 5. 

Any booked passengers will be contacted by TUI, who said they will be prioritising holidaymakers in departure date order over the next two weeks. Those with affected holidays will be given choices which will include changing to a later date, a refund credit note, or cancelling with a full refund.  

 

The company have issued the following statement for their customers :