Downing Street denies reports of preparing no-deal Brexit holiday warnings

Downing Street has denied reports that the government is to suggest families do not book holidays after 29 March amid preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

The Sunday Times reported that the government was supposed to discuss the contingency plans at last week's cancelled cabinet meeting after May received a vote of no confidence in her leadership, which she later won.

A cabinet minister is said to have explored the proposals with senior officials and the impact that the advice could have on specific tour operators. The newspaper quoted one source as saying the government was mulling covering losses to holiday companies.

But a spokesperson for No.10 said the reports were "categorically untrue".

A number of airline chiefs have expressed concern about a no-deal Brexit.

In September Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary ramped up warnings of a no-deal Brexit, saying planes could be grounded for up to three weeks if the UK leaves the bloc without a deal.

In September the government warned that a no-deal Brexit could cause disruption to air travel between the UK and European Union countries, while insisting that a no-deal scenario remained "unlikely".

"If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no agreement in place, UK and EU licensed airlines would lose the automatic right to operate air services between the UK and the EU without seeking advance permission," the government said at the time.

On Friday the European Commission said that while UK travellers will not need a visa after Brexit, they will have to pay up to €7 (£6.30) every three years to travel to EU countries.