Travel companies have seen a sharp surge in bookings as the government announced the current traffic light system of red, amber and green countries will be scrapped for England from 4 October.
Thomas Cook’s chief executive said customers are “already booking in their droves” following the latest travel changes, with the holiday company experiencing its second best day of bookings alone this year on Friday and expecting its “best weekend yet”.
Airlines including British Airways and easyJet also welcomed the major relaxing of travel rules for people coming in and out of England – but increased the pressure on the government to remove testing requirements altogether.
Image: From early October, anywhere not on the red list will be considered green and clear for travel
On Friday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that from early October, anywhere not on the red list will be considered green and clear for travel– with the amber list set to be removed.
Also from that date, travellers who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to take pre-departure tests for travelling into England from non-red list countries.
Advertisement
Then, from the end of October, they will be able to replace their day-two PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow test.
More on Covid-19
Related Topics:
Those unvaccinated will still have to pay for PCR tests.
The travel changes will kick into effect for the end of the school half term holidays, offering families more freedom to travel internationally during the break and in the lead up to Christmas.
Those returning from red countries will still have to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Transport sec explains reason for new travel system
Responding to the changes, which Mr Shapps said will create a “simpler system”, Thomas Cook boss Alan French said it is “a shot in the arm for both the travel industry and families up and down the country who are crying out for some much-needed late summer sun”.
Mr French said bookings for October half-term “are up more than 200% compared to August”, adding: “Based on our bookings already today, I would expect this weekend to be the biggest of the year so far as people take advantage of the great deals on offer, the new easier rules on testing and the simplified system for international travel.”
Managing director of TUI UK Andrew Flintham agreed that the latest travel changes are “a positive step forward” and will “provide much-needed reassurance for customers looking to book ahead”.
Mr Flintham added: “We’ve already seen an uptick in bookings for Turkey in October and a big increase in bookings for those looking to enjoy some winter sun.”
The chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, Shai Weiss, said “the overdue simplification” of the government’s rules for international travel “will deliver a significant boost to consumer confidence and UK economic recovery”.
But others have suggested the changes do not go far enough.
Image: The managing director of TUI UK, Andrew Flintham, said the latest travel changes are ‘a positive step forward’
Some, including Karen Dee, Airport Operators Association chief executive, noted that England has “a more onerous approach to travel than our European competitors”.
Ms Dee said the change is “a good step forward”, but added: “Ultimately, we need to return to a situation similar to prior to the pandemic, in which people can travel without further tests or forms to fill out. The UK and devolved governments should aim for this as soon as is safely possible.”
Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye added: “This simplification of the travel rules is very welcome for businesses and families across the country but the decision to require fully vaccinated passengers to take more costly private lateral flow tests is an unnecessary barrier to travel, which keeps the UK out of step with the rest of the EU.”
Similarly, easyJet chief Johan Lundgren said the announcement was “welcome”, but added: “However, vaccinated travellers and those from low-risk countries will still have to do an unnecessary test after arriving in the UK, making travel less affordable for all.”
British Airways chief executive and chairman Sean Doyle also urged the government to go further and sweep away all testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
Meanwhile, Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport chief executive, said passenger locator forms should also be discarded.
A leading financier and Conservative Party donor is among the contenders vying to chair Channel 4, the state-owned broadcaster.
Sky News has learnt from Whitehall sources that Wol Kolade has been shortlisted to replace Sir Ian Cheshire at the helm of the company.
Mr Kolade, who has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Tory coffers, is said by Whitehall insiders to be one of a handful of remaining candidates for the role.
A recommendation from Ofcom, the media regulator, to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy about its recommendation for the Channel 4 chairmanship is understood to be imminent.
Mr Kolade, who heads the private equity firm Livingbridge, has held non-executive roles including a seat on the board of NHS Improvement.
He declined to comment when contacted by Sky News on Monday.
His candidacy pits him against rivals including Justin King, the former J Sainsbury chief executive, who last week stepped down as chairman of Ovo Energy.
Debbie Wosskow, an existing Channel 4 non-executive director who has applied for the chair role, is also said by government sources to have made it to the shortlist.
Sir Ian stepped down earlier this year after just one term, having presided over a successful attempt to thwart privatisation by the last Tory government.
The Channel 4 chairmanship is currently held on an interim basis by Dawn Airey, the media industry executive who has occupied top jobs at companies including ITV, Channel 5, and Yahoo!.
The race to lead the state-owned broadcaster’s board has acquired additional importance since the resignation of Alex Mahon, its long-serving chief executive.
It has since been reported that Alex Burford, another Channel 4 non-executive director and the boss of Warner Records UK, was interested in replacing Ms Mahon.
Ms Mahon, who was a vocal opponent of Channel 4’s privatisation, is leaving to join Superstruct, a private equity-owned live entertainment company.
The appointment of a new chair is expected to take place by the autumn, with the chosen candidate expected to lead the recruitment of Ms Mahon’s successor.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment on the recruitment process.
The owner of Brentford Football Club has clinched a deal to sell a minority stake in the Premier League side to new investors at a valuation of roughly £400m.
Sky News has learnt that an agreement that will involve current owner Matthew Benham offloading a chunk of his holding to Gary Lubner – the wealthy businessman who ran Autoglass-owner Belron – is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday.
Matthew Vaughn, the Hollywood film-maker whose credits include Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, is also expected to invest in Brentford as part of the deal, The Athletic reported last month.
Further details of the transaction were unclear on Monday night, although one insider speculated that it could ultimately see as much as 25% of the club changing hands.
If confirmed, it would underline the continuing interest from wealthy investors in top-flight English clubs.
FA Cup winners Crystal Palace have seen a minority stake being bought by Woody Johnson, the New York Jets-owner, in the last few weeks, with that deal hastened by the implications of former shareholder John Textor’s simultaneous ownership of a stake in French club Lyon.
Sky News revealed in February 2024 that Mr Benham had hired bankers at Rothschild to market a stake in Brentford.
More from Money
Under Mr Benham’s stewardship, it has enjoyed one of the most successful transformations in English football, rising from the lower divisions to the top division in 2021.
It has also moved from its long-standing Griffin Park home to a new stadium near Kew Bridge.
This summer is proving to be one of transition, with manager Thomas Frank joining Tottenham Hotspur and striker Bryan Mbeumo the subject of persistent interest from Manchester United.
Brentford did not respond to a request for comment on Monday night, while a spokesman for Mr Lubner declined to comment.
Talk to economists and they will tell you that the cost of living crisis is over.
They will point towards charts showing that while inflation is still above the Bank of England’s 2% target, it has come down considerably in recent years, and is now “only” hovering between 3% and 4%.
So why does the cost of living still feel like such a pressing issue for so many households? The short answer is because, depending on how you define it, it never ended.
Economists like to focus on the change in prices over the past year, and certainly on that measure inflation is down sharply, from double-digit levels in recent years.
But if you look over the past four years then the rate of change is at its highest since the early 1990s.
But even that understates the complexity of economic circumstances facing households around the country.
For if you want a sense of how current financial conditions really feel in people’s pockets, you really ought to offset inflation against wages, and then also take account of the impact of taxes.
More on Cost Of Living
Related Topics:
That is a complex exercise – in part because no two households’ experience is alike.
But recent research from the Resolution Foundation illustrates some of the dynamics going on beneath the surface, and underlines that for many households the cost of living crisis is still very real indeed.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:32
UK inflation slows to 3.4%
The place to begin here is to recall that perhaps the best measure of economic “feelgood factor” is to subtract inflation and taxes from people’s nominal pay.
You end up with a statistic showing your real household disposable income.
Consider the projected pattern over the coming years. For a household earning £50,000, earnings are expected to increase by 10% between 2024/25 and 2027/28.
Subtract inflation projected over that period and all of a sudden that 10% drops to 2.5%.
Now subtract the real increase in payments of National Insurance and taxes and it’s down to 0.2%.
Now subtract projected council tax increases and all of a sudden what began as a 10% increase is actually a 0.1% decrease.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:29
Will we see tax rises in next budget?
Of course, the degree of change in your circumstances can differ depending on all sorts of factors. Some earners (especially those close to tax thresholds, which in this case includes those on £50,000) feel the impact of tax changes more than others.
Pensioners and those who own their homes outright benefit from a comparatively lower increase in housing costs in the coming years than those paying mortgages and (especially) rent.
Nor is everyone’s experience of inflation the same. In general, lower-income households pay considerably more of their earnings on essentials, like housing costs, food and energy. Some of those costs are going up rapidly – indeed, the UK faces higher power costs than any other developed economy.
But the ultimate verdict provides some clear patterns. Pensioners can expect further increases in their take-home pay in the coming years. Those who own their homes outright and with mortgages can likely expect earnings to outpace extra costs. But others are less fortunate. Those who rent their homes privately are projected to see sharp falls in their household income – and children are likely to see further falls in their economic welfare too.