Travel is safe says TUI boss ahead of update – ‘more dangerous to go to the supermarket’
International travel ‘isn’t dangerous’ says TUI’s Andrew Flintham
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On BBC News this morning, Andrew Flintham, Managing Director of TUI was adamant: PCR tests are unnecessary. With the travel industry “at a tipping point” and many businesses expected “not to make it”, Andrew explained travel was safe.
Safer, he claimed, than going to the supermarket.
He said: “There really isn’t a risk out there in the way that it’s been vilified in terms of international travel is dangerous.
“It really isn’t, it’s probably more dangerous to go to the supermarket.”
This thinking was why he believed, as many other in the travel industry do, PCR tests are not needed.
READ MORE: ‘I want to go back!’ Britons ‘loved every minute’ of summer staycation
Andrew said: “We don’t think there should be any testing [for safe countries].
“You don’t take a test to go to the supermarket, we don’t see why you need a test to go to a country that maybe has an infection rate that’s lower than the UK.”
It was time, he said, to let travel do what it does best.
Britons needed to “meet friends and family, go on holiday, do business. All the things international travel is about”.
Hoping for a return to “the old fashion system of whether you could or couldn’t go” to a destination and a “greatly reduced red list”, Andrew said the industry was the first to have been impacted, and incredibly, the last to still be impacted by all the restrictions.
Andrew was not the only one who hoped for an easing of the restrictions.
Over on GB News, travel expert Leo Jones said: “We were expecting news to come yesterday.
“The whole industry and consumers, we’ve been in this movie many times, where we’ve been waiting for information to come from the Government.
“Fingers crossed that after this anticipation we get the news that we have been waiting for today.”
Leo was hopeful and even made predictions based on the data available.
He said: “Looking at the data that we’ve got coming in we’re really hopeful that there’s going to be lots of changes.”
He continued: “Argentina could be one, Dominican Republic, Kenya and the Maldives, and Turkey.
“We are expecting some real hotspots to be released from the red list.”
Britons should book holidays, said Leo, especially as they were a lot of good deals to be had.
He said: “We need to look ahead. Some the winter destinations will hopefully open up today and there will be some great deals to be had there as well.
“Although travelling is incredibly difficult at the moment, don’t let that stop you looking ahead and booking some great holidays.”
He also cautioned would-be holidaymakers and said keeping up to date with rules and regulations was extremely important.
“Make sure you’re keeping up to date with all of the rules on the FCDO website as well.
“Travelling has changed immensely now, […] we see so many people getting to the airport who haven’t prepared for the additional things that are needed.”
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