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How will EU travel work this summer?

What additional controls will be in place for international travel this summer?

After the UK Government announced that international travel might be possible from the 17th May 2021, we’ve started to take bookings in earnest for the 2021 season – many from people who are predicting that their Government’s will follow the UK’s lead and allow their citizens a break this summer.

On an aeroplane Most people are currently booking yacht and catamaran charters on PlainSailing.com for later in the sailing season (July, August or September) to be on the safe side – these things can take a little bit of time to get in place – but the general thinking seems to be is that summer holidays will be taking place this summer. Which is great news to travellers and for travel companies.

What we don’t yet know is what sort of additional steps will be in place to protect countries, aeroplanes and people from the various Coronavirus strains working their way around the globe.

Covid vaccine Vaccine passports? 

There is talk of ‘vaccine passports’ which would allow anyone who has had a recognised Coronavirus vaccine to take to the skies – but this is something which the UK Government have suggested is a bit unfair on the people who haven’t yet been offered the vaccine, and so, is something they are disinclined to do.

In Europe, whilst the tourist-reliant Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy are keen on the idea (or, indeed, any idea to get the throngs of tourists back into their towns, beach-resorts and hotels), German and Belgian politicians (amongst others) are also lamenting this approach.

Covid test Regular testing & certification? 

If they decide against vaccine passports, then they will have to focus on testing people for the virus before, during or after their holidays – like they are currently doing – to identify, control and prevent the spread of the virus.

In this case, they’ll need to find a way to step up the number of tests privately available (and the ease with which customers can find them), as well as finding ways to make them more affordable – currently a PCR test will set you back around £90 / €100 per test.

Those figures might not sound like much per passenger, but it’s enough to put a dampener on short-haul travel, and surely Governments or even airlines would step in to minimise the costs for each passenger and to encourage travel.

Sailing Most likely outcome? 

The most likely outcome is surely a combination of the two, with some sort of vaccine certification scheme for those that have had the vaccine, and some sort of (cheaper?) virus testing for those that haven’t.

There might also be some ‘red-listed’ countries to which travel is banned, but given the current and ongoing decrease in cases across Europe, then hopefully that won’t affect European travel.

 When will we find out? 

Discussions are on-going, but we should find out more before mid-April - the president of the EU is expected to present a proposal regarding travel within the EU on or around the 12th March, which will then be subject to discussions and agreement between all 27 member states, with an announcement expected in late March. Of course, this might be made more complex by the fact that the UK is now outside the EU, and classed as a 'third-country' for Coronavirus terms. 

The UK Government have already announced that international travel will not be possible before the 17th May, and that they will announce specific travel guidance for the summer when they announce the next phase of their lockdown release on the 12th April.

But depending upon the content of the EU and UK announcements, there might yet be further options for Brits travelling abroad – Spain and Greece have both announced that they would consider setting up a ‘travel corridor’ with the UK which would see them adopting their own rules to allow tourists to arrive from the UK, and other travel destinations would likely follow suit.