Airlines add extra seats to rare green list destinations Gibraltar, Iceland and Israel
FTSE-listed airlines Easyjet, Wizz and British Airways have added more seats to the dwindling number of green list destinations including Gibraltar, Iceland and Israel where Brits can avoid self-isolation upon returning from their holidays.
Sun-seekers from England are effectively limited to Gibraltar and the Channel Islands to limit costs and hassle upon their return to the UK to just one PCR test on day two.
Israel will welcome UK tourists from July.
Airlines have cancelled scores of flights to summer hotspots in Spain and Greece as demand dwindled on the prospects of more Covid PCR tests and 10 days self-isolation on return. Some of those planes will instead head to Gibraltar and other green list rareities.
British Airways, easyJet, and Wizz announced additional flights to Gibraltar.
BA’s CityFlyer, based at business traveller favourite London City Aiport, launched a new service to Gibraltar on Friday.
Data from airfare booking site Skyscanner found the number of seats sold for flights to “the Rock” increased 115 per cent in the first week of this month compared with the previous week.
Icelandair, meanwhile, is doubling the number of daily services between the London Heathrow and Iceland from one to two next month, with new direct flights from Gatwick and Manchester added later in the summer.
Easyjet has also moved aircraft from its London bases to its German airports, as the leisure airline predicts holiday travel from Germany will be easier than from the UK.
With Portugal’s move from green list destination to the dreaded amber list, all major summer holiday destinations now require a 10-day self-isolation upon return, whereas quarantine-free inter-EU travel is reopening so long as travellers show proof of vaccination or negartive test.