The government roadmap for restarting travel has gone “beyond expectations” say industry sources at the heart of engagement with ministers.
The prime minister insisted there is “time to make plans for the summer” as he unveiled the four‑step roadmap on Monday.
It will begin with schools reopening on March 8. Non-essential retail could reopen from April 12 and travel resume from May 17, with each step a minimum five weeks’ apart.
Boris Johnson also announced a successor to the Global Travel Taskforce to review the reopening of travel and report by April 12.
An airline source said: “There is a lot more than we were expecting. We’re surprised and really encouraged.”
The source dismissed criticism of the five-week wait for the taskforce, saying: “We wouldn’t expect overseas travel to open before hairdressers and restaurants. To commit to a report by April 12 is aggressive.
“They’ve committed to a timetable none of us expected. We feared there would be no mention of travel. [Instead] there is an entire section [in the roadmap]. The UK is one of the first countries to say ‘We’re going to have to live with this’.”
The source noted: “May 17 is the earliest possible restart, but we’re probably looking at June. There are bound to be some surprises. But at the start of hotel quarantine we were talking about an autumn restart.”
A second industry source said: “It’s quite a result. The government has gone beyond our expectations. May 17 looks a long way off to people, but we have dates to aim for and the government is keen to engage. There seems more confidence in government that they see a way out of this.”
However, the source warned: “We’re not going to go from the level of restrictions we have now to nothing. We’ll have layers of restrictions for some time.
“You’ll be able to travel, but it won’t be like last summer. A lot depends on what the taskforce puts forward regarding travel corridors.”
The source added: “Those calling for a seat on the taskforce need to understand it doesn’t work like that.”
Martin Alcock, director of the Travel Trade Consultancy, agreed: “This won’t be a linear climb back to normality. It will be up and down, stop and start. There is a lot of detail to figure out. Everyone is in danger of getting carried away.”
Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, said: “It’s better than we hoped, but no one has seen this massive increase in bookings everyone is talking about. The only calls have been from people wanting refunds for bookings before May 17 because we know now there won’t be travel before then.”
The Scottish government announced its own easing of restrictions on Tuesday including opening non-essential retail from April 26. But there was no mention of international travel. An industry source said: “It’s imperative we get a four-nations approach.
“We need to align domestically if we want to align internationally.”