No holidays until late March, says Jet2

Britain’s second-biggest holiday company, Jet2 Holidays, has written off its plans for the rest of January, all of February and most of March.

The Leeds-based firm has cancelled all flights and packages up to and including 25 March 2021. It includes the normally highly profitable February half-term week.

The decision reflects the current UK-wide ban on leisure travel and the impending introduction of mandatory testing for returning holidaymakers.

All Jet2.com budget flights have also been grounded until late March.

A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We will be automatically cancelling affected bookings with a full refund. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have always respected that customers should receive their money back if we have not provided their flight or holiday.

“For customers due to travel from 26 March onwards, we will provide further updates closer to the time as appropriate.”

At present Tui, the UK’s largest holiday company, has cancelled all its holidays until 12 February.

All Tui customers booked before to travel before the end of April can swap their trip for another holiday currently on sale without amendment fees.

Alexandre de Juniac, director-general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), has criticised the UK – along with Canada, Germany and Japan – for adding testing to Covid-19 measures without removing quarantine requirements.

“They have chosen policy measures that will shut down travel,” he said.

“This approach tells us that these governments are not interested in managing a balanced approach to the risks of Covid-19. They appear to be aiming for a zero-Covid world. This is an impossible task that comes with severe consequences.

“The travel and tourism economy will not recover. Jobs will continue to disappear. And the lockdown’s toll on people’s mental health will continue to grow – particularly on those who are separated from loved ones.”