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(Recasts, adds TUI comment)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - International holiday bookings
surged by as much as 600% after Britain laid out plans to
gradually relax coronavirus restrictions, giving battered
airlines and tour operators hope that a bumper summer could come
to their rescue.
EasyJet said flight bookings from Britain jumped
over 300% and holiday bookings surged by more than 600% week on
week after the government indicated on Monday that travel could
restart from mid-May, while holiday company TUI UK
said that its holiday bookings surged 500%.
This summer is make-or-break for many airlines and holiday
companies which are struggling to survive with close to a year
of almost no revenue due to pandemic restrictions. Without it
many will need extra funds after burning through cash reserves.
UK-listed travel stocks were buoyed after new bookings
flooded in on Monday evening and Tuesday despite ongoing
uncertainty over exactly how and when international routes can
reopen.
Shares in easyJet jumped 9%, while British Airways-owner IAG
traded up 6%, TUI and Jet2 both
jumped 6% and Ryanair was 3% higher.
While British tourists are some of the biggest spenders in
Europe, the presence of a more infectious variant of coronavirus
in the UK could alarm some countries. France and Spain have shut
their borders to most UK travellers due to variants.
UK holidaymakers will know more on April 12 when the
government publishes a travel review. It has said that a
lockdown ban on most international travel will stay until at
least May 17.
That should give airlines time to plan their summer
schedule, a process which takes months.
EasyJet said trips from the UK to beach destinations such as
Malaga, Alicante and Palma in Spain, Faro in Portugal and Crete,
Greece, were the most popular destinations with holidaymakers
keenest to travel in August. July and September were the next
most popular months.
TUI said destinations in Greece, Spain and Turkey were the
most booked overnight, with people opting to go from July
onwards.
Britain's route back to normality is helped by rapid
progress with its vaccine plan. Over 17.7 million people, or a
quarter of the population, have already had a first dose of the
jab. The government is also considering options for vaccine
passports.
The airlines and travel companies hope such progress will
mean that from May 17 the UK will end its holiday ban and remove
a 10-day quarantine requirement, a big deterrent for
holidaymakers, and some of its COVID-19 testing rules.
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle and Susan
Fenton)
