UK holidaymakers in Portugal charged hundreds of pounds to beat quarantine deadline
Holidaymakers scrambling for flights home from Portugal before new quarantine requirements come into force are being charged hundreds of pounds (Nick Ansell/PA)
Fri, 04 Jun, 2021 - 14:29
Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
British holidaymakers scrambling for flights home from Portugal before new quarantine requirements come into force are being charged hundreds of pounds.
People arriving in the UK from Portugal after 4am on Tuesday will need to self-isolate at home for 10 days after the British government moved it from the green list to the amber list.
A seat on a Ryanair flight from the capital Lisbon to Manchester on Monday costs £339 (€394), whereas travel on the same route is available for just £75 (€87) on Wednesday.
Britons in Portugal who are scrambling to get back to the UK to beat next week's quarantine deadline face paying hundreds of pounds more for earlier flights.
The Transport Secretary said ministers must be ‘super cautious’ over the reopening of foreign travel.
He told the Mail the Government couldn’t afford to ‘take any chances’ due to the perceived threat of new Covid variants at holiday destinations.
Britons hoping for a foreign holiday this summer face a confusing choice after Portugal was moved from the green to amber list leaving thousands of people at risk of quarantine unless they can fly home before Tuesday
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, pictured, said he would not advise Britons against booking foreign holidays, though he acknowledged that such trips to places such as France, Greece, Spain and Italy may not be possible before August