Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday of the easing of the lockdown, airlines and travel companies have seen a surge in holiday bookings.
From 17 May foreign holidays could be allowed “subject to the data” and hours after the announcement easyJet said they have received more than four times higher bookings, for the summer season, compared to the same period the previous week.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said, “We have consistently seen that there is pent-up demand for travel and this surge in bookings shows that this signal from the Government that it plans to reopen travel has been what UK consumers have been waiting for.
“The Prime Minister’s address has provided a much-needed boost in confidence for so many of our customers in the UK with demand for flights up 337% and holidays up 630% already compared to last week and beach destinations proving most popular for this summer.”
He added, “While the summer may be a little while off, we will be working around the clock to ensure we will be ready to ramp up our flights to reconnect friends and family or take them on a long-awaited holiday to remember.”
The UK’s largest tour operator Tui has seen a six fold increase in bookings on Monday for demand in Greece, Spain and Turkey from July onwards.
Managing director Andrew Flintham said that the government can work with the travel sector to develop a “risk based framework” which will provide holidaymakers “the opportunity to travel abroad this summer,” following a “huge demand in travel.”
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