Gary Holmes, Travel Consultant atย Not Just Travel, rounds up the latest developments in the world of business travel as we move out of lockdown…
Tour operators open up, but has Spain?
Tui expects its UK tour operations to be sending holidaymakers abroad โlater in the summerโ.ย The message came as the travel giant partially restarted its summer 2020 programme fromย Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland to a limited number of destinations from mid-June and the beginning of July.
Easing of travel restrictions in Europe has enabled the initial restart with two flights from Germany to Majorca on Monday.
Confusion over Spainโs rules for British holidaymakers has been sparked by conflicting messages by officials.
Hopes rose whenย prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced over the weekend that Spainโs borders would reopen to travellers from all EU countries on June 21, with the exception of Portugal.
And on Monday evening, a Spanish government spokeswoman confirmed to theย BBCย that the UK would be added to a list of countries whose citizens could travel to Spain.
But Spanish foreign affairs minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya later appeared to give new guidance on the travel rules for UK travellers arriving in the country.
She suggested that the country may impose a two-week quarantine on British travellers if the UK maintains its current travel restrictions.
The new stance was apparently prompted by the UK government imposing a two-week quarantine on international arrivals.
The future for Virgin Atlantic and the airlines
Two of the bidders for Virgin Atlantic have reportedly opened talks to submit a joint proposal to save the carrier.
Former Monarch owner Greybull Capital and US hedge fund Elliottย could join forces as they compete with investors such as Davidson Kempner Capital Management,ย Sky Newsย reported.
Virgin Atlantic is trying to secure a financial rescue package worth more than ยฃ500 million, with the end of June serving as an informal deadline for having an outline deal agreed.
The airline hopes to secure private investment alongside taxpayer support and drew up a revised proposal to government earlier this month.
EasyJet and Airbus have reached an agreement on revised delivery dates for 24 aircraft originally due to arrive between 2020 and 2022
The delivery of eight of 32 deferred aircraft had already been moved from 2020 to 2022, and easyJet confirmed on Tuesday thatย the remaining 24ย will be delivered between 2025 and 2027.
BA fights back
IAG chief Willie Walsh has strongly rejected claims from MPs that British Airways is a โnational disgraceโ over the treatment of its staff during the lockdown.
Walsh, chief executive of the BA parent company, hit back after the Commons transport committee condemned the airlineโs plans to axe up to 12,000 workers and to consult on changes to terms and conditions for many of the remaining 30,000 staff.
He rejected the findings in a letter to committee chairman Huw Merriman MP, according to newspaper reports today.
He emphasised that BA โis fighting for its survival, in the face of overwhelming and unprecedented challenges, while respecting the fundamental British value of the rule ofย law. This is not a disgrace. Lying down and surrendering without a fight would be a disgrace and we will not do that.โ
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Travel Consultant
Not Just Travel
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