TAKE OFF
Foreign holidays restart today – we join thousands of Brits heading to Portugal to test what travel abroad will be like
FREEDOM! International travel was declared illegal nine long weeks ago but today Brits were allowed to jet off once more.
Excited holidaymakers and those desperate to see friends and family again were today pouring into airports across the country for the great getaway as May 17 heralded the latest easing of lockdown.
14
But there were limited options for sunseekers as just two sunny European destinations are on the UK's green travel list, meaning people don't have to quarantine on their return to England - Portugal and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
As a result, the cost of plane tickets to Portugal soared, with air fares doubling in the 48 hours after the green list announcement.
The Sun's Travel Editor Lisa Minot and Chief Features writer Oliver Harvey were among the first Brits taking off from Heathrow this morning - here they tell us what the new world of international travel looks like...
Lisa Minot, Travel Editor - flying to Lisbon
14
I joined passengers flying from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on the 7.30am British Airways flight BA500 to Lisbon in Portugal, one of the very few countries on the UK Government’s green list that is welcoming Brits back.
A total of 355 flights are due to take off and land at Heathrow today - up from the 224 operating at the airport last Monday when travel was still illegal.
But it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the 1,400 the airport was used to handling pre-pandemic.
Once the busiest airport in the world, today just terminals two and five were open. Of course, masks are obligatory everywhere.
All of the shops in British Airways’ flagship Terminal 5 are open. You can also order food and drink to ‘grab and go’ from the restaurants and bars open via the Heathrow Airport app - and you’re encouraged to then take it away to avoid overcrowding.
Banks of hand sanitising stations, one-way systems and social distancing reminders are everywhere.
A business class ticket no longer guarantees you a place at the front of the line at the boarding gate.
14
BA staff call passengers seated at the back of the plane first - filling up towards the front to avoid unnecessary contact between travellers.
And again, the new post-pandemic experience even extends to onboard catering.
BA famously ditched free food in economy on short haul flights in 2017 but when they started flying after the first lockdown, provided everyone onboard with a bottle of water and snack, such as a breakfast bar or crisps, for free.
This week's best deals on holidays abroad
- Get Universal Orlando theme park tickets for adults at kids’ prices
- Portugal makes green list - find cheap holidays from £131pp
- Gibraltar holidays from £105pp as country makes UK green list
- Cheap Portugal villa holidays and all inclusive hotels
- Flights for Portugal in June from £10
- TUI launches summer sale with £50 off Portugal hols or £100 off Greece & Malta
And for anyone wanting a more substantial meal or drinks, there’s the chance to pre-order up to 12 hours before the flight with sandwiches and pies created by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge.
Of course, typically for me, I forget and miss the 12 hour deadline but for a two-hour flight, I stock up in Boots with a sarnie and Diet Coke.
We are up and away and in just two hours and 20 minutes are touching down in Lisbon.
Jasmine Halpin Dias Antones, 20, from London, was delighted to be heading off finally for two months studying in Lisbon, and with a Portuguese father and relatives in the country she couldn’t wait to be reunited .
She said: ‘I am so excited to be finally heading off - we have been waiting since February for the chance to go I can’t wait to see my grandparents and aunts."
Meanwhile, Steve Wilson and wife Claire, both 52 from Northamptonshire are heading to Lisbon to go house hunting on the coast.
Claire said: "I can’t wait for some sunshine and warmth. It’s just great to have a change of scene after so long staring at the four walls of your own house."
Steve added: "We were shocked at the price of testing - £155 for a PCR test.
"Although it’s complicated with lots of form filling, at least British Airways checks you have completed all the right tests and forms so you don’t have to worry when you get to the airport. I am not sure Ryanair will do that."
Travel in this new pandemic era is unlike anything most of us have experienced.
My preparations for the trip involved far more than checking my passport was in date and buying some foreign currency.
14
Portugal requires a negative PCR test for all arrivals and this had to be booked through a Government-approved provider and the test taken up to 72 hours before the flight.
With my test taken I had to fill in a Portugese locator form online detailing where I would be staying and for how long.
British Airways required me to confirm I’d filled that form in - and prove I had a negative test result - before allowing me to finally check in.
But the forms don’t end there. I’ve had to order - and pack in my luggage - a lateral flow test to be taken in Portugal for my eventual return to the UK.
Booking through test provider Qured, I’ve made an appointment for a video interview with one of their staff while I am in Portugal to confirm I’ve taken the test correctly and provide me with the certificate to show I am negative.
I’ve still got to fill in the UK Government’s Passenger Locator Form, providing details of not just the test to get me back in to the UK but I have booked a PCR test to take on day two after my return. Without this, Border Force staff could fine me up to £500.
I download all the certificates onto my phone and screenshot a host of QR codes and print them out just in case my phone dies or I lose it on the trip.
For an experienced travel journalist used to jetting off around the world, it’s still a challenge. For those doing this for the first time, or for multiple family members, it will be even more complicated.
There were emotional scenes when BA's flight finally arrived in Lisbon as grandfather Joaquim Rodrigues got to meet his seven-month-old grandson for the first time.
14
14
14
New parents Natacha and Miguel Rodrigues both work at Frimley Park Hospital in Hampshire and were bringing baby Gabriel on his first flight to meet Miguel’s father and sister Ana.
There were tears, smiles and lots of hugs as the family were reunited after more than 18 months apart.
Natacha, from Farnborough, said: "It’s so exciting to be here, I am so happy. The journey was a bit stressful but it’s all been worth it. I can't wait to see my mum too, she couldn't make it to the airport.’
Both parents are nurses at the NHS hospital with Natacha working throughout the crisis while pregnant. She said: "It was very challenging looking after the baby without hands to help and scary as well."
Dad Miguel said: "We're so excited and can't wait for a bit of sun and a want a break - that's why parents and sisters are so important!"
Miguel's sister Anna added: "I was just so anxious for this time, I just wanted to hug the baby. I am so happy to finally be with them."
Oliver Harvey, Chief Features writer - travelling to Madeira
14
Lockdown-weary Brits are heading for Portugal in their thousands this morning as foreign holidays became legal once more.
Around 5,500 British holidaymakers are due to arrive at Faro Airport alone as 17 flights arrive there from the UK today.
The green list officially came into force at 4am today meaning you can visit approved destinations without having to isolate on returning to the UK.
By 4.30am I was queuing at Gatwick’s North Terminal for tour operator TUI’s first passenger flight since foreign holidays were banned.
Joining the growing throng of sun seekers at Gatwick Airport, I put Britain’s new holiday regime to the test on a 6.30am flight to the Portuguese island of Madeira.
I felt a shiver of excitement as I arrived at London’s second-largest airport at the liberating prospect of international travel after months of grim lockdown.
The airport was still eerily quiet as I arrived to be greeted with a sign saying Keep Healthy, Keep Safe, Keep Flying.
14
Entering the North Terminal, travellers are greeted by a hand sanitizer station and messages to adhere to social distancing, wash your hands regularly and wear a mask.
Everyone appeared to be sticking to the rules in the spotlessly-clean terminal. It felt safe and well-managed.
At the TUI check in desk it was time to see if my testing and online form filling would pass muster.
Portugal is the first major European holiday destination to get Downing Street green light status, meaning holidaymakers won’t have to quarantine for ten days after their return.
But there was some Covid pre-holiday admin. Portugal - which welcomed around 2.5 million British visitors in 2019 - had only formally announced it would accept UK tourists once more on Friday.
After securing their bookings, Brits then had to make sure they had the correct testing and paperwork completed before flying.
First I had to take a PCR fit-to-fly test. TUI have a subsidised deal with a Government-approved company called Chronomics who deliver a testing kit to your door.
14
I took the test at Friday lunchtime and got the negative result on email in the early hours of the following morning.
Then you have to fill in an online Madeira Traveler Registration form and download your negative test result onto the form.
Three days before returning to the UK you have to take a pre-departure test. Then you have take another test on arrival in the UK in the two days after landing.
TUI are offering a package for all three tests costing £60.
Oh, and don’t forget to fill out an online passenger locator form before arriving back in Britain.
At TUI check in I had to show my negative test and the QR code from my Madeira registration form. It took a couple of minutes on my phone to locate the bits and pieces.
One middle-aged British couple said: “It’s a bit fiddly. We’re good with computers but I imagine it would be daunting for some elderly people.”
Security was a breeze - it was 4.30am - with a trickle of travellers passing airside.
Duty Free was open for business with social-distancing rules applying.
Unfortunately for nervous fliers like me, Wetherspoon’s Red Lion was closed. So breakfast was in Pret a Manger.
Doctor's receptionist Ali Rogers, 54, and partner Shaun Cunning, 57, from Southampton were jetting off for an 11-day break on Madeira, and said: “We’re going to lie by the pool and relax in the sunshine. We want to de-stress.
“We booked up as soon as the Government announced the green list. We love our holidays and go on two a year.”
Highways worker Shaun said of the testing and checking in protocol: “It’s a bit fiddly. We’re okay with technology but older people might struggle.”
At check in it, those at the back of the plane boarded first.
14
14
Passengers - polite and patient - giggled as they boarded like freshers on the first day at college to be met by cheery cabin crew in Hawaiian-style floral necklaces.
As the jet’s engines roared into life, I felt that adrenaline cocktail of fear and excitement I’d experienced on my first ever flight.
Once airborne, a cabin crew announcement urged passengers to keep their masks on for the duration of the flight, avoid queueing in aisles and to use sanitiser.
Holiday makers Darren and Rhonda Gallagher, from Teignmouth, Devon, had soon ordered a bottle of prosecco to toast their freedom.
With undisguised joy, Morrison’s butcher Darren, 57, said as their 11-day getaway began: “This is fantastic. I’m a sun-worshipper, we usually go away three times a year, but haven’t been away for two years.
“We’ll do a bit of snorkelling and go on a cable-car ride but most of the time we’ll be sunbathing.”
The pair have had both their jabs so didn’t need a pre-flight PCR test, simply showing proof of vaccination using the NHS app at check in.
Rhonda, 53, who has been shielding for a year after chemotherapy for skin cancer, added: “I’m looking forward to the sun, food and the alcohol.
“We’re sanitising all the time and happy with safety measures on the plane and at the airport.”
After landing at the spectacular Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport - perched on a foreland jutting out into the ocean - it took just 22 minutes to clear immigration and customs.
14
There was a short queue for border control where a friendly officer novelly stamped my passport as a non EU traveller.
Then - after passing customs - travellers queued to have their Madeira travel document scanned by officials.
Disappointingly the famously naff bust of Ronaldo outside the airport, which made him look more like F1 driver David Coulthard, was replaced by another that more resembled the footballer in 2018.
Someone had cheekily slipped a mask over the statue’s face.
Soon British tourists were being greeted with the local fortified wine at the Hotel Riu Palace Madeira.
14
You can check in remotely using an app and are handed your keys inside an envelope with a welcome pack by a masked receptionist.
At the hotel’s buffet lunch, each diner picked up their own tongs to serve themselves before depositing the implement in a basket.
Local restrictions in Madeira mean tourists have to wear masks at all times unless eating or drinking, on a sunbed or in the pool.
Holiday makers expecting to paint the town red may be surprised to discover that restaurants and bars are operating a strict 10pm curfew.
Most read in News Travel
Drinkers must remain seated. Just five people are allowed on each table - indoors or outdoors - and premises are allowed to operate at just 50 per cent capacity.
It’s a summer holiday but not quite as you knew it.
Read More on The Sun
Yet, sipping a cold beer as the sun beat down on the hotel’s terrace nestled above the breaking Atlantic waves, I felt privileged.
Britain is travelling again. Our freedoms are returning.
British tourists arrive in Faro after Portugal was added to UK's Covid travel 'Green List'
Topics