UK holidaymakers who travel abroad before the end of June could face a fine of up to £5,000, despite the UK government only banning foreign travel to May 17 pending a review. The stiff new penalty is part of new legislation that MPs will vote for on Thursday.
Speaking to the BBC this morning, March 23, UK health minister Matt Hancock said, “The reason for that is that we are seeing this third wave rising in some parts of Europe and we’re also seeing new variants and it is very important that we protect the progress that we’ve been able to make here in the UK.”
However, the minister also reiterated that the review of whether international travel can go ahead from May 17 will still happen, but many fear that whatever hopes there were for an early summer getaway have now faded.
As a result, shares in easyJet, IAG, Jet2 and TUI all fell.
