On May 17th the travel restrictions in the United Kingdom were lifted. Meaning anyone will be allowed to travel to the green list countries which are Israel, Portugal, Iceland, Singapore, Brunei, Gibraltar, Falkland, Faroe, South sandwich, South Georgia Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Australia and New Zealand are on the green list however brits are banned from entering currently due to the ongoing situation.
At Bristol Airport we will see the rise of flights to Gibraltar, Portugal and possibly Iceland. Easyjet have routes from Bristol to these 3 countries. Ryanair and Tui will also be flying to Portugal with routes such as Faro. The first international flight departed with Ryanair to Faro on 18th May 2021.
Overall this is a big step forward for the aviation industry as many people will be back to work and more jobs will be available in the future.
Dave Lees, CEO of Bristol Airport commented on the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions on the 7th May 2021 with the following statement:
“Today’s government announcement confirming the list green countries is another very small step forward to safely resuming international travel from 17 May onward. The initial list is disappointing offering a limited number of destinations being placed on the green list. With the world-wide vaccination programme we expect more countries to be added to the green list in the coming months. This will provide surety and confidence to customers in arranging the long-awaited family visit, a well-deserved holiday or business trip.
“Safety and security of our customers and colleagues remains our key priority and is at the forefront of all planning and preparations we have in place in readiness for Monday 17 May. We will continue to work closely with airlines, the government, Department for Transport and Public Health England on the latest information as it becomes available.
“The aviation sector has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and Bristol Airport, along with airports across the UK, has never had the opportunity to recover during what continues to be the most challenging period in our history. Providing the safe return of international travel plays a vital role in the region’s economic recovery and protects jobs now and in the future from the impact of this devastating pandemic.”
Simon has been writing aviation articles for nearly 10 years and is the senior article writer at Fresh Aviation, with a background in aviation and a commercial pilot Simon knows his stuff in the aviation world. Simon has spoken on BBC Radio, contributed to Bristol Post and has various aviation articles on various websites.