Heathrow boss calls for government to reveal likely summer green list countries
Heathrow’s chief executive has urged the government to reveal which countries are likely to be included on its travel green list in summer in order to give holidaymakers time to prepare.
John Holland-Kaye said today that he thought Spain would eventually be “coming into the green zone” as it has low infection rates, but that families and the aviation sector needed clarity on what to prepare for.
The Heathrow chief executive told the Sunday Telegraph that the government should give a provisional list of what countries are on track to go onto the green list during summer to allow people and companies to prepare.
Holland-Kaye said failure to do this could force airlines to cancel many flights in advance and to drastically increase prices later this summer.
Only 12 destinations are currently on the green list, with places such as Portugal, Gibraltar and Iceland the most popular holiday spots.
Many more are on the amber list, which means people should self-isolate for 10 days on return, however the government has advised people to only go to these countries in extraordinary circumstances.
An updated list will be put out on 7 June, with Malta, Finland, the Balearic and Canary islands rumoured to be set for inclusion.
The four most popular UK overseas holiday destinations – Spain, France, Italy and the US – are not considered likely to be included next week on the green list.
“I fear the government is going to drag its feet on Spain,” Holland-Kaye said.
“I think that will be a mistake and the reason for that is that very few people are flying in spite of all the hype we see.
“From the week before travel opened up with the first green countries, we went from 7,000 passengers departing a week to between 10,000 and 11,000. People were being very disciplined and following the guidance.”