IONA SETS SAIL: P&O Cruises’ new 5,200-passenger flagship, Iona, departed on its maiden voyage on Saturday – more than a year after the original launch date – at just under 50% capacity. Lines have been ramping up operations overseas after the UK government lifted its ban on international cruises. Norwegian Jade became NCL’s first ship to restart with a series of Greek Isles sailings. Parent NCL Holdings plans to bring all 28 ships across its three brands back into service by April 1, 2022. MSC Cruises’ flagship, MSC Seashore, welcomed its first passengers on a western Mediterranean cruise ahead of its repositioning to Miami, where MSC Meraviglia became the first MSC ship to restart in the US last week. Meanwhile, tall-ship line Tradewind Voyages redrew its entire
schedule due to Covid “complexities”.
Covid testing ‘important’ but unease at cost grows
Ben Ireland
A majority of arrivals into Britain consider Covid-19 tests for travellers important despite growing concerns about costs and the levels of genome sequencing. UK Office for National Statistics
(ONS) research in June found 85% of returning UK travellers and 93% of overseas visitors rate Covid tests important. The proportion of UK travellers rating tests ‘very important’ remained a majority, but dropped to 52% from 73% in February. Publication of the ONS’s rolling
International Passenger Survey of arrivals followed sharp criticism of the cost of PCR tests – required for all arrivals regardless of destination but to varying degrees (see box). MP Huw Merriman, chair of the
transport select committee, said PCR tests were an “unnecessary rip-off” and urged the government to allow cheaper lateral flow tests for travel instead.
6 12 AUGUST 2021 He said only 5% of all positive
PCR tests from arriving passengers in the three weeks from July 1 were genome-sequenced. The government has insisted on PCR testing to identify variants of concern via sequencing. Merriman said: “Passengers spent
£35 million on PCR tests in that three-week period which equates to about £100,000 per sequenced test.” He wants to see PCRs used as a second test when a lateral flow returns a positive result.
testing requirements O At least one PCR test is required for all arrivals from international destinations within two days of landing in the UK
O Those returning from green list countries, or who are fully vaccinated and returning from amber list countries, must take one PCR test
Miles Morgan Travel chairman
Miles Morgan said his confidence in the testing regime had been “shot out of the water” by Merriman’s revelations. “If you are not going to genome-sequence, it’s not doing the job it was set up for,” he told a Travel Weekly webcast. “It makes sense to forget that and do lateral flow testing.” The government is advising all
travellers arriving from Spain to take a PCR test “wherever possible” due to infection levels and variants in the UK’s biggest outbound market, so pre-departure as well as on day two. But health secretary Sajid Javid
O Those not fully vaccinated returning from amber list destinations must take at least two tests, one on day two and one on day eight
wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority calling for a review of the system after complaints of “excessive” costs averaging £75 per person and “exploitative behaviour” from some of the 400-plus testing firms listed on the government site. The Advertising Standards Authority is investigating
“inconsistent pricing”. i Get Social, page 31
NCLH wins US ruling on vaccination status
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has won backing from a US judge paving the way for its three brands to require documentation confirming a passenger’s vaccination status before boarding in Florida. The ruling means the line can insist 100% of passengers boarding in Miami are fully vaccinated.
Dnata Travel names Pollard as new CEO
Gold Medal parent dnata Travel Group has promoted Ailsa Pollard (pictured) to chief executive of its UK and Europe brands. Pollard replaces John Bevan, who has stepped up to become divisional senior vice- president for travel.
Consultation on Atol Reform ends on Sunday
This week is the last chance to respond to the CAA consultation on Atol Reform which closes on August 15 and proposes significant changes to the way Atol-holders operate and the use of customer money. Alan Bowen, advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, warned: “This affects every travel agent.”
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURE: Christopher Ison
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
