Norfolk travel agency thinks lockdown fines are putting people off booking holidays
People arriving at airports could face fines of up to £5,000 from today.
Last updated 29th Mar 2021
An independent travel agency in Norfolk thinks lockdown fines are putting people off booking future holidays.
From today (29 March) people who go to an airport without a reasonable excuse, while overseas travel remains banned, could face fines of up to £5,000.
It has been prohibited throughout the current lockdown, with the only exemptions being work, education, moving home, or major family events.
The introduction of fines for people going to an airport, and speculation about permitted locations when restrictions allow, is feared to have added to the uncertainty of people hoping to book holidays.
The confusion around the fines is already have an impact on Oyster Travel in Norwich.
Managing Director, Sophie Baker, said: "We had a really, really positive start to March. Our sales were above what it was pre-Covid and then from the announcement things have started to tail off again.
"I think it has confused people as to if they should be booking a holiday or not.
"We had a few people call saying their holiday is cancelled up until 30 June and if not they'll get a £5,000 fine. That's not the case, we're working toward the opening of travel on the 17th of May and the £5,000 is purely a deterrent."
While the fines will not apply to any future holidaymakers, as holidays abroad won't return until 17 may at the earliest, there's concern the attention it has received will put people off altogether.
The Global Travel Taskforce is expected to report back to Boris Johnson on 12 April with recommendations on a return to international travel, while still managing the risk of coronavirus infection and variants.
A date for the return of holidays abroad will then be determined but will not be any earlier than 17 May, which was originally set out in the February roadmap
According to the Government website, reopening international travel will depend on the global and domestic epidemiological picture, prevalence and location of any variants of concern, vaccination progress here and abroad, and knowledge on efficacy of vaccines on variants and their impact.