Summer holidays by air

Here is the situation with some of the most popular countries.  The EU has stressed that each Member State must decide for itself how the vaccination certificate will be used.

This is also covered by the Government Covid-19 web page in BTN.

From the UK, overseas holiday travel is not allowed until 17 May as things stand and it is strongly recommended that adults are proven free of Covid-19 and if possible vaccinated.  Check very carefully with your destination and any local rules.  It is not very clear what constitutes a travel passport and whether for example the Ryanair app would be accepted at certain destinations.  

See Covid-19 on Ryanair ticket app in this week's BTN. 


Cyprus
More dependent on tourists than most other countries Cyprus was quick to announce it will open its doors to Brits who have had both vaccination jabs from the start of May. The country’s deputy tourism minister Savvas Perdios said that they would allow Brits who had been given vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) the right to enter without the need for a negative test or to quarantine. Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines have been approved for use by the EMA.


France
UK residents no longer need to prove a “compelling reason” to travel to France, the country’s tourism minister has announced.

In order to enter the country, travellers will need to provide a negative Covid-19 test result issued less than 72 hours before they travel to enter the country.


Greece
Haris Theoharis the country’s tourism minister says Greece hopes to welcome foreign tourists from as early as 14 May, depending on the status of the coronavirus pandemic. “Regarding 2021, in Greece we are more than optimistic,” he said. ‘We are ready to share the experience of liberation from the unpleasant memories of the pandemic with each and every one of our guests.”


Portugal
May is the target for Portugal the country’s tourism minister Rita Marques told the BBC last week, saying that even though its current roadmap to relax measures does not include any concrete dates, an exception may be made for tourism.

“Today, non-essential travel still has to be restricted, but we assume that Portugal will be able to allow unlimited travel again very soon,” Marques said.

Later, she clarified that “very soon” could be as early as the beginning of May. “Everything will be ready to welcome tourists when their governments allow them to travel again,” Marques added.


Spain
The country’s tourism minister Reyes Maroto told a local TV station that the Spanish Government is looking at implementing a vaccine passport system.  

She set a target of 19 May, when the international tourism fair FITUR is due to take place in Madrid.

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