NEWS
Travellers ‘deemed fully vaccinated without booster jab’
Ian Taylor
There is no immediate threat of a change to the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ to include Covid- booster jabs for travellers, say senior aviation sources. A report at the weekend warned
UK travellers “who fail to take booster jabs face renewed restrictions”, suggesting ministers are “drawing up plans to reimpose quarantine and testing for those who refuse”. But a source told Travel Weekly:
“Our understanding is the booster shot forms part of being fully vaccinated [without a need for additional certification]. Bringing that
in at the current time would mean the majority in the UK would be deemed not fully vaccinated. It doesn’t seem feasible. Look how long it has taken to get to the level of two vaccinations. “Unless there is international
alignment, it would cause all sorts of complexity. One would hope they wait until after the winter.” The source added: “The system
feels pretty stable for now. We don’t sense any real concern from ministers. What would create an immediate reaction would be if a new variant appears anywhere.” The government announced a
further easing of restrictions on Mon- day, extending recognition of vaccines
to those made in China – which will benefit arrivals “from countries such as the UAE, Malaysia and India” – and confirming all under-18 arrivals in England will be treated as fully vaccinated from November 22. It also confirmed it will continue to
review the ‘red list’ every three weeks and “not hesitate” to add countries. The source described retaining
the red list as “sensible”, arguing: “To remove the policy could cause all sorts of problems down the track.” Austria and Israel have imposed time limits on the validity of
Covid booster jabs are currently only
available to over-50s and certain other groups
vaccinations for travellers without booster jabs. Israel has a 180-day limit and Austria 360 days. Booster jabs are currently available
in the UK to over-50s, health workers and the clinically vulnerable. Virgin Atlantic chief excutive
Shai Weiss expressed the hope that Covid tests could soon be removed for vaccinated travellers as the US border reopened on Monday. He told Travel Weekly: “We have
to get back to a position of no testing. It could be possible by the beginning of next year.”
‘Partnering Ryanair is irresponsible’ Lucy Huxley
The boss of dnata Travel Group has described operators that continue to work with Ryanair as “irresponsible”, as he said a decision to stop selling the carrier via dnata-owned Travel Republic had paid off. John Bevan, divisional senior
vice-president, said Ryanair had been taken off sale in September last year as the online travel agent shifted focus to supportive partners and longer-haul routes. He was speaking after rival OTA
On the Beach filed a High Court claim against Ryanair, seeking
travelweekly.co.uk
damages and an injunction. It accused the airline of a “concerted smear campaign of false allegations” and of breaching the Competition Act (Travel Weekly, November 4). Bevan told Travel Weekly: “Why
work with a suppler that isn’t a partner? Ryanair still owes us millions in refunds. Therefore, we took the commercial decision to take them off sale in September last year. “As a tour operator, we want to
work with suppliers we can trust so that if there’s a schedule change, for example, they are working with us. “How can I look after my
customers otherwise?” He added: “All the other airlines
work with us but with Ryanair, it’s impossible. If they don’t want to work with the trade, why should we work with them? “I think it’s irresponsible for tour
John Bevan
operators to work with suppliers that don’t work with [the trade]. It’s against all the tour operating principles.” Bevan said customer review scores
had gone up since the shift, adding: “We reorganised our business to not have to rely on Ryanair’s cheaper routes, and we’ve firmed up relationships with airlines that can compensate. We have restructured to look at more long-haul.” He said: “OTAs are quite lazy.
They created a tech that allowed customers to pick and choose what they wanted and put all suppliers in it. We need to curate more for our customers.”
11 NOVEMBER 2021 7
PICTURE: Sarah Lucy Brown
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Studio Romantic
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