RESTART FLIGHT TO MADEIRA: This week’s restart feels more gradual than last year’s but also
Tui flight attendant
Check-in at Gatwick
Ben Ireland and guests (right) in Madeira
Arrival in Madeira
It’s thumbs up for travel’s T
his was the first holiday on the first day we could go,” says Gary. He’s one of a group of six and they’re
clearly keen to get away. The three couples, from Surrey,
are on the 6am departure from Gatwick to Porto Santo, Madeira, on a Tui package holiday. But not any Tui package – this is the first holiday to depart on May 17. Tey’d switched from a booking
they had to Rhodes, not because it was an amber destination, but because they were unable to fulfil the require- ment to self-isolate on their return. In fact, Gary says: “We’ve been to
Rhodes plenty of times before, but this is our first time to Porto Santo. So it’s broadened our horizons.” Madeira, and the rest of Portugal,
is on the green list – meaning you don’t have to self-isolate on your return – but you do have to take a PCR test on day two. And you must take a pre-departure PCR test before you can leave the UK too.
8 20 MAY 2021 The check-in
attendant is happy to be welcoming us and very honestly reports the process ‘takes longer’
“Because [the testing process] is
so new it was difficult to navigate,” admits Gary, but adds: “Once people get used to it they’ll be happy to travel.”
Departure The atmosphere at Gatwick is as if the gradual restart is one big trial run and, given the initial green list comprises just 12 countries – and only one mainstream destination – it certainly feels that way. Tui’s check-in attendant is
genuinely happy to be welcoming customers and, very honestly, reports the process “definitely takes longer” than before. Of course it does. They’re not
just checking your passport and printing your boarding pass, they’re also checking your Covid test status too. Those of us travelling to Madeira have to show negative confirmation from both the testing provider and in the Madeira Safe app. Inevitably, not everyone has
all their documents ready, but this might improve as people become accustomed to the new protocols. Multiply the extra check-in time by multiple flights, however, and the obvious recommendation is to arrive at the airport earlier than usual. On board, the aircraſt feels a bit
like atending a hospitality venue and is much the same as during last year’s restart: masks on unless you’re eating, and social distancing where possible.
Arrival Arriving at Funchal feels like a novelty, partly because of how long it’s been since leisure travel was allowed from the UK and partly because you now get a stamp in your
passport from an EU country. One minor additional procedure
here, after passport control, is to have your Madeira Safe registration checked. Those who downloaded the QR code enter a fast-track lane and are on their way. Another lane is for those with email or printed confirmation of their negative test result. With current volumes, we breezed through, but it’s easy to see how this could become busier by the summer.
On the ground In resort, the first holidaymakers to touch down are relieved their plans have gone ahead, with many having altered them at least once. Some say the pandemic has given them a greater appreciation of the protection offered by a package holiday. London friends Babs, Sandra
Cherry and Vivien (pictured, above) were booked to go to Turkey on May 18 until it was placed on the red list on May 7. “We would’ve gone if it was amber,” says Cherry. “We still
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