Coronavirus: When will Italy return to the quarantine-free list?

Simon Calder answers your questions on travel corridors, cancelling dream holidays, Covid testing and more

The Mediterranean nation has fewer virus cases than the UK (Getty/iStock)

Q Have you any thoughts about when Italy might be put back into the UK travel corridor, to avoid quarantine on return?

Sarah L

A New coronavirus infection rates in Italy are about two-thirds the level in the UK. Yet since last weekend people arriving in Britain from Italian locations have been required to self-isolate for two weeks.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre, which advises ministers, had concerns about Italy’s “positivity“ (the proportion of Covid-19 tests that turn out positive) and the trajectory of infection numbers. So Italy became the last large Mediterranean country except Greece to join the “no-go” list.

The pattern over the past three months has been gradually to exclude all the most popular holiday locations: before Italy, trips to Spain, France, Portugal, Croatia and Turkey were placed off limits. Yet this week there has been a distinctly different tone from the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, when he announced the latest changes.

Only tiny Liechtenstein joined the no-go list. The much bigger news: for months after Spain was unceremoniously dumped as a possible travel destination, the Canaries are back on the travel horizon.

I think this signifies another change of quarantine policy. Continually closing off travel opportunities to places with lower infections rates than the UK has looked increasingly unsustainable. It appears there is now an acceptance that an open-air beachside bar in Tenerife or Gran Canaria is likely to be a healthier location than a crowded pub in the UK. The government may also be acknowledging that, as the nights draw in, many people will be looking for an escape – and that constant short-notice travel bans are stressing travellers and damaging the travel industry.

All of which convinces me that Italy and other destinations with demonstrably lower infection rates (such as Portugal and the UAE) may soon open up to holidaymakers – if not in November, then probably in December. But I should warn you that I have been wrong-footed more than once by the government’s quarantine rulings.

Q I booked, pre-pandemic, a package holiday to Barbados. I am due to fly out on 21 December for two weeks. The balance is due on 7 November. Should I pay it or start the cancellation process now?

Kate W

A Without wishing to seem flippant, I am not sure why you would want to start cancelling what sounds like a dream trip? Agreed, we are in the midst of a global pandemic, and the coronavirus crisis is causing immense harm worldwide. Yet that does not mean travel, when conducted responsibly and in line with the many restrictions, should cease. 

As Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, Shai Weiss, has said: “The economy, which is already in deep recession, will not take off unless we have travel and tourism back on track.” 

Barbados is an island largely dependent on visitors from overseas, so your journey will help those who depend on tourism for their livelihoods.

I imagine the appeal to you of spending Christmas and new year on an island in the sun is all the stronger because of the dark times the world has been going through. And infection levels in Barbados are a tiny fraction of those in the UK, so you will also be safer than you would at home. If you feel concerned about the process of travel, the protocol established by Barbados with the aim of protecting its population may help.

Since the start of this month, soaring British coronavirus infection rates mean that visitors from the UK are categorised as high risk. The first hurdle is to have a negative Covid-19 test result from an “accredited lab” in the UK, within 72 hours of the planned arrival time in Barbados.

You may be able to organise it at Heathrow airport before departure, if the island accepts “LAMP” tests by then – but having a test three days ahead is preferable because it reduces the time you are confined to your property in Barbados.

The fact that everyone else on the plane has had a negative test result should make the journey more relaxing. Arrivals in Barbados from the UK initially have “restricted movement”. They must remain in the grounds of their hotel, resort or villa. Four or five days after “the first accepted negative test result”, which could be as little as two days after arrival, travellers will be tested again, courtesy of the island’s government. They are set free if they get a negative result. This “quarantine and test” strategy looks to me both effective and benign.

As you will be aware, if you seek to cancel a trip that your travel firm plans to run, you are likely to lose your deposit. But if for any reason the holiday is cancelled by the operator, the package travel regulations mean that you will get a full refund.

Q I read your account of Covid-19 testing at Heathrow airport and thought I should get in touch about my experience. I booked a flight-only deal to Cyprus through an online travel agent. It didn’t tell me that I needed a Covid-19 test in order to fly. As you no doubt know, the island insists on one taken in the previous 72 hours. Even though I had turned up at the airport in plenty of time, there was nothing suitable anywhere near, and I lost the trip – which cost more than £200. Is it worth me pursuing the agents or the airline for failing to let me know, or should I try travel insurance?

Carmen J

A At present, Cyprus requires a PCR test for coronavirus that has been taken in the past three days before departure. “Test results can be in the form of an email or SMS, but the result itself and/or appointment letter must include the date and time when the test was taken,” says the Foreign Office advice for the island.

Note that the Lamp test currently on offer at Heathrow does not qualify for Cyprus, though the company behind the testing scheme hopes the island may soon accept it. I am afraid that neither the airline nor the agent has any obligation to you. Passengers are required to have all the necessary documentation and are deemed responsible for finding out what rules pertain for their destination.

In practice, most good travel companies will help: Ryanair, for example, sends out a special email saying: “As governments continue to introduce Covid-19 rules and restrictions, it’s very important that you check the most up-to-date travel guidelines with the relevant local authorities before your trip.”

The message contains a link to the rules for each destination. The airline reminds customers: “You must ensure you complete any additional travel documentation that is required, for every country that you fly to, and bring it with you on your trip.”

Sadly, I have heard many stories of online travel agents failing to pass on messages from airlines. That is unhelpful but not legally negligent. In addition, you will see a clause in your travel insurance policy that says, basically: “We won’t entertain any claim if you fail to comply with red tape.”

Sorry it’s an unhappy answer, but I hope your experience will help others avoid the same expensive and upsetting experience.

Q Ryanair is going to start flying the Boeing 737 Max next year, I read. I wouldn’t feel comfortable about stepping on board – is the best plan to book on other airlines? And would you ever fly on it?

Geoff T

A The Boeing 737 Max was the cause of a double aviation tragedy. Crashes of the latest version of the jet in October 2018 and March 2019 cost the lives of 346 passengers and crew. It is now accepted that a rushed and inadequate design and certification process left the plane with a fatal flaw: a single faulty sensor could trigger an anti-stall system, forcing the nose of the aircraft down despite the best efforts of the pilots.

The designed-in danger killed 189 people aboard Lion Air flight 610. Less than six months later Ethiopian Airlines 302 was lost, along with 157 lives. The plane has been grounded for 19 months but is likely to be flying passengers again in the US before the end of the year.

Ryanair is the biggest European customer for the plane, with 135 orders and 75 options. Eddie Wilson, the chief executive of Ryanair’s main operating division, told me the airline expects to be using the Boeing 737 Max in schedule service from early 2021.

If the initial deployment pattern originally planned for 2019 is followed, the jet will begin service on longer routes from Stansted, Ryanair’s main base. It should be possible to identify the flights on which the Max is expected to be used, but like all carriers Ryanair reserves the right to shuffle its fleet – so it could be deployed between London and Dublin at short notice.

While some airlines are offering passengers the chance to switch away to other aircraft, it appears unlikely that Ryanair will do the same. Some people will no doubt avoid the carrier entirely because of the presence of the Boeing 737 Max in its fleet but I will not be among them.

Like almost everyone else, I was unaware of the built-in risk when I stepped aboard a SpiceJet Boeing 737 Max from Cochin to Mumbai early last year. It was a pleasant and safe flight. Now that the plane has been comprehensively safety-checked, I would not hesitate to step on board again; the Max is the most deeply scrutinised aircraft in aviation history. Add to that Ryanair’s remarkable record as the safest airline on the planet, in terms of passengers flown without a fatal accident, and I will have no qualms.

While I empathise with apprehension among travellers, my prediction is that within a few years millions of people will be flying comfortably each day aboard the Boeing 737 Max.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder