Operators relaunch Canary Islands programmes

Thursday, 23 Oct, 2020 0

Jet2holidays, TUI and EasyJet will relaunch flights and packages to the Canary Islands from this weekend after the UK government removed the islands from the quarantine list.

TUI will resume flights on Saturday to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote with Jet2holidays restarting operations to Tenerife on 30 October and to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura on 1 November.

EasyJet meanwhile will launch flights on November 2.

Jet2 Chief executive Steve Heapy said: "We welcome today’s announcement and we know that our customers, who want to get flying again, will do so too.

"For some time we have been calling for a proportionate, evidence-based approach to safe travel and this is very much a step in the right direction. There is much to do still, and we look forward to working with government to achieve that."

Heapy described the Canary Islands as ‘hugely important for us and independent travel agents…and for our customers’.

"We know how much our customers want to get away for some winter sun in the Canaries, and they can do this again from 30 October onwards," he said.

Jet2 said flight to the Canaries will operate from all nine of its UK airports.

EasyJet said in a statement: "We welcome the announcement from the UK government that the Canary Islands and Mykonos have been added to the list of quarantine exempt countries for British travellers.

"This will mean many of our customers will be able to take a winter sun break to these popular islands or reschedule a holiday that they’ve been unable to take this summer as a result of the last minute changes to quarantine restrictions.

"As a result we will be putting additional flights on sale in the coming days from our airports across the UK.

"We continue to encourage the Government to take a lead in moving to testing, as well as the approval of new testing technologies, as soon as possible as effective testing is crucial to get people flying again."

TUI UK and Ireland Managing Director Andrew Flintham labelled the reintroduction of the Canaries as a ‘positive step forward for our business and all our customers’.

"We haven’t been able to take people on a TUI holiday to the Canary Islands for 89 days, when the sudden quarantine and subsequent travel advice was imposed with little notice," he said.

"We’re therefore delighted that UK  flights will now resume from Saturday 24 October. The first flights will depart to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote this weekend, with many more added in the coming days.

"We urge the Government to continue to work closely with the industry on airport testing so we can open up more destinations in the coming weeks.

"We must move away, where possible, from the anxiety our industry faces waiting for the new list of places people can travel to each week. This level of uncertainty is damaging for business and all those employed in our industry."

By Steve Jones, Contributing Editor (UK)


 



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...