At the time of writing (16th June) there are the first signs that the European travel industry is emerging from three months of forced hibernation. With Covid-19 forcing the grounding of flights, shutting most international borders and leaving holiday plans in tatters, many people had written off their summer holiday in 2020.
However – think again! From 21st June, Spain will open their borders to international tourists, following the lifting of restrictions announced by France, Italy, Germany and the majority of the EU. Flights are slowly restarting – easyJet has started flying UK domestic routes and will expand their European network in July, whist Ryanair has flights to Palma Majorca from Sunday 21st June.
Package holidays are available from easyJet Holidays from 1st July, TUI from 11th July and Jet2 from 15th July.
Whilst this is all positive news, there are some considerations before booking your 2020 getaway.
Do I need to quarantine?
The UK government currently requires all arrivals into the UK to quarantine for 14 days. There is currently no requirement to quarantine when entering an EU country from the UK. However, some countries, such as France, have a voluntary quarantine scheme for travellers arriving from the UK.
For more information on travelling around the EU, the European Commission has put together this handy interactive guide of Europe. https://reopen.europa.eu/en
Expect the UK government to drop the 14-day quarantine rule fairly quickly – probably before the end of July. That’s our hunch anyway.
UK FCO advice
Currently the biggest issue with travelling abroad is the UK’s FCO advising against all but essential travel. Why is this an issue? Well, for the simple fact that if you travel against this FCO advice, your travel insurance will be invalid during your trip.
We also expect the FCO to change their advice fairly soon – removing the barrier to travel from the UK.
Does travel insurance cover me for Covid-19?
- Simply put – yes.
- Providing the FCO are NOT advising against travel when you leave the UK, your travel insurance will provide you with medical cover, including against Covid-19.
- However, as mentioned above, if you start your trip whilst the FCO advice is to not travel, your policy will be invalid – even if the FCO change their advice whilst you’re away.
- Travel insurance will not currently cover cancellation in the event you can’t travel due to contracting Covid-19 – however some holiday companies will.
So, can I go on holiday?
The short answer is yes, you can. However, unless the FCO changes their advice, you’ll be uninsured. The advice WILL change, the question is when.
If you have any travel insurance questions, get in touch on our Facebook page or by calling 01243 784000.
