Tui will continue to operate holidays from Scotland under the current Covid restrictions, but confirmed all flights and holidays from England and Wales would be suspended for the duration of the lockdown period.
Holidays up to and including November 4 will go ahead as planned, before the lockdown comes into force, with departures between November 5 and December 2 cancelled in line with the corresponding travel ban.
The confirmation from the UK’s largest tour operator comes after Boris Johnson’s lockdown announcement on Saturday, and also includes the extension in the pause of operations of its cruise line Marella Cruises from November 15 to December 16.
Tui River Cruise, which was due to launch with three ships this month, has also been postponed – until March 2021.
Tui said: “With different restrictions in place for Scotland, package holidays departing from there are currently unaffected. All Tui UK customers with accommodation-only bookings can also still travel if they wish, or they can choose to amend for free.”
The operator said it will be proactively contacting all customers impacted by these changes over the coming days to discuss the options available to them, which include amending for no cost and a booking incentive, receiving an Atol-protected refund credit note with a booking incentive, or requesting a full cash refund.
Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said: “The UK government’s latest decision to implement a second national lockdown is another blow for the travel industry, which has already been brought to its knees after almost eight months of continued uncertainty. However, public health must be the priority right now and we therefore cannot take customers on holiday from England and Wales from November 5 up until December 2.
“We appreciate that the government has recognised the toll these restrictions will have on the sector and its employees and we’re pleased that the furlough scheme has been extended throughout November. However, these new measures reiterate the vital importance of a move to airport testing to allow those who want to travel to do so safely.
“We will continue to monitor the government’s advice and review our holiday programme in line with this. We hope we can take our customers away to the sunshine soon so they can escape the long, cold winter nights.”