Will we be quarantined on our late summer holiday to Lanzarote?

Simon Calder answers your questions on getting away during uncertain times

Our expert predicts travel firms will be able to run holidays in July and August (Tamara Hinson)

Q We have booked to go to Lanzarote at the end of August, into September, for 10 days. Will we have to go into quarantine both on going to Lanzarote and returning?

Also, if we do have to spend a full two weeks on the way out, will we have to pay for the extra four days and change our flights? It’s so confusing.

Sue O

A The travel landscape right now is even rockier than the terrain of Lanzarote. Travellers face huge uncertainties, due to a combination of official government action and political rumours. But I hope I can help provide you with at least a sense of direction.

First, the Spanish quarantine that came into effect yesterday is a strictly short-term measure that has been imposed as the country de-escalates its very tough lockdown and ends its “state of alarm”. The measure may last into June but I doubt very much that it will continue until September. Were it to prevail, though, I think it is likely you would be able to cancel – or, more precisely, airlines and holiday companies would cancel departures because quarantine will choke off demand.

The UK’s quarantine is far less clear. Last Sunday, the prime minister announced that “people coming into this country by air” must self-isolate at home for two weeks. Less than 24 hours later, it emerged that quarantine will apply to rail and sea as well as air.

Even though ministers have said it will come into effect as soon as possible, my betting is that the start date will be 25 May. It would therefore be at least 100 days before your departure in September.

Since the science behind the quarantine looks, to put it politely, weak, my prediction is that it will stagger on for about five weeks; any less and it would be impossible to draw any conclusions. But lifting at the end of June would also give airlines and travel firms at least a chance of getting some revenue in July and August.

So I judge your timing to be excellent – and the same applies to the odds of your holiday going ahead as normal.

Don’t let coronavirus wreck your Reykjavik plans entirely (Getty/iStock)

Q We have booked a holiday to Iceland in late September, which is fully paid for. I have been in touch with the travel firm telling them that the UK government has said “no international holiday this year because of the Covid-19 virus”. They have come back and said that their country will be back to normal by 15 June and that we will not have to go into quarantine over there. They said they would move our holiday to next year, but I would prefer a refund.

Angela H

A “It is unlikely that lavish international holidays are going to be possible for this summer” – that is the view of Matt Hancock. Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, the health secretary also agreed with Phillip Schofield’s suggestion that “summer is essentially cancelled”.

As Mr Hancock is one of the UK’s most important politicians right now, his words carry a great deal of weight. But comments on a television programme and government legislation are two very different things.

At present no mainstream UK tour operator is sending people on holiday right now due to the Foreign Office advice against all-but-essential travel anywhere abroad. That warning is open-ended and may possibly endure for the summer. But I doubt it.

The blanket travel ban was brought in as a response to the web of border closures, and I have urged the Foreign Office to replace it with individual country alerts. As the barriers open up between Iceland and many other European nations, there is unlikely to be advice against travelling from mid-June. I therefore believe you will be able to take the trip as planned in September – with one important caveat.

A quarantine policy requiring most arriving passengers to self-isolate for 14 days will soon begin. The government says: “Now that domestic transmission within the UK is coming under control, and other countries begin to lift lockdown measures, it is the right time to prepare new measures at the border.”

There is no clarity about how long quarantine will last, nor what metrics must be met before it is lifted. I predict that it will remain in place throughout June – any less, and it would be impossible to detect if it has had any measurable effect.

Understandably, millions of prospective holidaymakers in July, August and September are uncertain about whether their trips will go ahead. But I think it is very likely that yours will operate as normal, with no need to self-isolate. So try to look forward to it – or, if you do not enjoy uncertainty, take up the firm’s offer to postpone.

Travel firms like Tui will have to refund passengers whose trips are cancelled (Getty)

Q The UK government has said it is unlikely that people will be able to travel abroad this summer, so why are holiday companies still selling holidays for this summer?

Elaine P

A Yesterday Tui, the biggest travel firm in Europe, announced it will start running trips in the second half of June and offer a wide range of holidays in July and August. Its rival, Jet2holidays, is doing much the same. And airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air are also stepping up flights from the UK to continental Europe.

Anyone buying a package holiday will be able to do so safe in the knowledge that they will get a full refund should the trip be cancelled.

Which begs the question: will trips go ahead in July and August, despite the coronavirus pandemic?

The UK government has several powers that could stop that happening, the main one of which is in place currently: the Foreign Office travel advice against all non-essential trips abroad.

It is open-ended. Were it to run until a specific date (with the possibility, of course, of an extension), the effect would be to force package holiday companies to cancel all their trips up that date. But unless and until that happens, it is perfectly legitimate for them to continue to sell, on the basis that the advice could change overnight.

They have plenty to sell: Tui revealed that it has sold 35 per cent of its planned capacity for summer 2020; while the actual number of holidays on offer is likely to be sharply reduced, any travel firm wants to be taking in cash right now.

One other British government move is also potentially significant: the promised introduction of quarantine for everyone returning from abroad to the UK, with the possible exception of those travelling from France and Ireland. That could render package holidays unsaleable, as few holidaymakers would want to undergo 14 days of mandatory self-isolation when they return home.

Once again, the government is not offering any clarity. So while I believe it is reasonable for travel firms to sell holidays, I am not currently a buyer – and I suggest you wait until the rules are clear.

Good to go: your passport is valid for EU travel up to and including the date it expires (Getty/iStock)

Q My UK passport is due for renewal in August. I have a holiday booked in mid-August to Gran Canaria, though obviously I don’t know at present whether it will go ahead. Am I right in thinking I can’t get my passport renewed at the moment?

Sarah E

A The first test is: will your passport still be valid on the last day of your trip to Gran Canaria? While there is an infuriating amount of misinformation around to the contrary, your passport is valid for travel anywhere in the European Union, including the Canary Islands, up to and including the date of expiry – at least until the end of 2020. So you may not need a renewal just yet.

But if it can’t stretch that far, you will need to take some action. Normal passport renewals ended on 24 March, when issuing offices around the UK closed to the public. At present, the official advice to travellers remains: “Do not apply unless you need a passport urgently for compassionate reasons, for example if a family member has died, or for government business.”

Presumably, as the return to work continues, HM Passport Office will begin to handle “non-essential” passport renewals once again in the coming weeks.

The potential problem is a surge of requests for renewals and, in some cases, new passports. I calculate that since the prime minister announced the UK-wide lockdown half a million adults’ travel documents have expired, together with more than 300,000 children’s passports.

So keep checking with the appropriate website, gov.uk/renew-adult-passport, and – as they say – stay alert to changes that allow prospective holidaymakers to apply once again. For a family of four, the value of passports is eroding by £35 per month. But there is no indication that there will be extensions available, nor that holders will be given discounts on renewals.

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