Grounded planes: one of the most common sights this year
Credit: Getty
So, how was it for you? Nick Trend looks back on 12 months of Covid chaos for the travel industry – from record bookings in January to cancelled holidays, refund rows, tourists stranded abroad, permanently anchored cruise ships and airlines going out of business.
January: Bookings boom
“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
Donald Trump, Jan 22
It had all started so well. Last December, IATA, which represents the world’s airlines, had predicted that both profits and passenger numbers would rise sharply in 2020. And in this country optimism levels were high. Uncertainty over Brexit had suppressed bookings for much of 2019. Now that the transition arrangements with Europe had been settled, bookings for flights and summer holidays were soaring. January is always the busiest month for bookings, and this y