Jet 2 has published an operational update in the light of the government’s review of green list destinations – which removed Portugal from the list and saw no new countries added.
The group said that as a result it had decided to extend its suspension of flights and holidays until July 1, with the exception of Jersey which will restart on June 24.
Jet 2 had already suspended operations until June 23, following the publishing of the Global Travel Taskforce’s framework for the return to international travel in April.
In addition the carrier will not operate any flights to Turkey until at least July 22, as the destination is currently on the government’s red list.
Jet 2 will also allow customers to amend bookings free of charge, where they are due to travel to amber list destinations between July 1 and July 21.
The group said that “Where customers are affected by any programme changes outlined above, we will automatically cancel their booking with a full refund, and our team of travel experts will be in touch to help them to rebook their summer getaway”.
Operations will be reviewed in line with the government’s commitment to review the “traffic light” status of overseas destinations every three weeks.
“We know how disappointed our customers and independent travel agency partners will be following [Thursday’s] announcement, and we share their concerns and frustrations,” said Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.
“The UK Government has repeatedly stated that it is making decisions based on infection and vaccination rates, yet many destinations continue to be left off the Green List despite having low infection rates and high vaccination rates.
“When you apply the Government’s own criteria for making decisions about travel, we simply cannot understand why more destinations across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands are not allowed to open to UK holidaymakers.
“We are now calling for complete openness and transparency when it comes to the data, so that customers and the industry can really understand what is driving these decisions.
“We agree that public health must be the number one priority. However, despite all the evidence and data showing that travel can restart safely and at scale, the UK continues to remain largely grounded whilst the rest of Europe opens up.
“We know that there is enormous pent-up demand for our flights and ATOL protected package holidays. Our customers want nothing more than to get away on their much-needed holidays and our colleagues want nothing more than to give customers the holiday they deserve.
“We know international travel can restart safely, so we urge the Government to urgently reconsider its approach and work with the industry to help us achieve that.”
