The path to restrictions and lockdown is witnessing ease in most of the countries from Israel to the UK with the vaccine in sight. This however is a far cry with the multi-varied mutated genes of Covid-19 playing spoilsport.
Quarantine And Restrictions Making Air-Travel Unlikelier And A Longer Affair
The world is steadily getting back to curbing freedom and imposing a tighter grip to prevent the further spread of the virus. With these new variants of Covid-19 being highly infectious the quarantine models are back on track.
The isolation policy is seeing new enforcements being placed that are extensive and stricter. The continued implementations have frustrated the travelers and airlines are bearing the brunt the most.
A year since the Covid-19 hit, the pandemic is taking a different turn with each passing day questioning the potency of the vaccines. Whether the same is going to work on the mutated strains and embolden more and more countries to open up is yet to be seen. The general health of the public is facing a grim picture with frequent travel woes and dampening of hopes for international travel. The latest to join the bandwagon is the U.K.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister of the U.K. has clarified the dates of opening up foreign travel. Slated as latest as of 17th of May 2021, the announcement saw an immense surge in bookings for flights. The roadmap out of the lockdown saw biggies like EasyJet, Ryanair, and Thomas Cook recording jumps in bookings. The whiff of potential resumption of international trips saw destinations from Spain to Greece being hotcakes.
EasyJet registered a whopping 337% rise in its flight ticket bookings. Whereas the bookings for packages saw a noteworthy figure. A stipulated hike of 630% in comparison to a week prior. Some of the most chosen destinations being Malaga, Alicante as well as Palma in Spain while Crete, the Greek island nation saw a huge surge.
The most popular being August break followed by July and September respectively. An encouraging trend that highlights the pent-up demand for travel bolstering customer confidence. Domestic travel is also catching up that has stemmed from people’s desperation to head out. Foreign holidays being a riskier affair all hopes are pinned on local travel.
England is amongst one of the countries to have enforced the toughest of curbs that includes a minimum 10-day quarantine stay at hotels for both British nationals and Irish nationals. The restrictions are even in place for citizens from a dozen other countries. The world is working its way in keeping the virus at bay with tightening of quarantine measures and policies on travel. Forcing extra caution for travel now more than ever.
Melbourne has mapped out an isolation facility in the outskirts of the entirely custom-built city. The extremities in curbs are more noticeable in Hong Kong. One that has the toughest of protocols of a 21-day quarantine for citizens of all countries barring China.
Airlines are chalking out plans for a global response to get people to start flying again. This comes with the proposal for vaccine certifications by the International Air Transport Association that is yet to gain favor with the governments.
Total recovery is still far-sighted with the requirements changing for each country from lockdown to quarantine. The future of travel is likely to be determined by inoculation drives and a sharp decline in caseloads.
Isolation for a longer duration is taking its toll on frequent fliers and travelers alike. The minimal spacing in hotel rooms to sealed windows is adding to the fever and nightmare that the travel sector is dealing with. The curbs are here to stay and achieving pre-pandemic travel goals is going to be a long and arduous wait.