Demand for flights to Portugal this summer surged in recent days, suggesting that many British travellers expect the country to be on the government's green travel list.
On Friday, the government is expected to classify Portugal as a low-risk country to visit, because of its low rates of coronavirus infection, death and hospital admissions.
Airlines raised flight prices in line with demand.
British Airways is charging £530 ($736) for a flight from Heathrow to the Algarve on May 17, which is when the ban on foreign holidays will be lifted for people in England.
Flying the same route two days earlier costs only £234.
A Ryanair flight from Stansted to Portugal's capital Lisbon on the day overseas leisure travel restarts is £152, compared with £15 on May 16.
EasyJet is charging £234 for a flight from Luton to the Algarve on May 17, but only £73 the next day.
About 2.5 million British citizens visited the country in 2019.
The quarantine and testing requirements for people arriving in England when foreign holidays resume will be based on a traffic-light system, with destinations on green, amber and red lists.
People arriving from a green location will not need to enter quarantine and will have to take only one test after arriving.
Those returning from an amber country must isolate themselves for at least five days and take two tests.
The red list requires a 10-night stay in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £1,750 for solo travellers.
Assessments will be based on factors including the proportion of a country’s population that has been vaccinated, rates of infection, new variants, and its access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
There is speculation that this could lead to the green list featuring destinations such as Portugal, Malta, Gibraltar and Israel.
The latest weekly rate of new Covid-19 cases for every 100,000 people is 21.2 in the UK, 26.5 in Portugal and 28.6 in Malta.
On April 14, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office stopped advising against all but essential travel to mainland Portugal.
The most popular European destinations such as Spain, Italy, France and Greece are initially expected to be on the amber list, but could switch to green before the summer holiday months.
Spain has a seven-day rate of 98.2 cases while Greece is on 113.9.
The UK's devolved governments have not announced plans to resume foreign holidays.
Tui, the UK’s largest holiday company, said it would offer customers coronavirus tests for a fraction of standard prices.
The cheapest package, aimed at people returning from green destinations, will be available for just £20, and consist of a lateral flow test and PCR test.
PCR tests alone typically cost £120, although several travel companies offer them for £60.
Tui said it is “subsidising the cost of testing to help customers travel again this summer”.
There are fears that testing requirements will make summer holidays unaffordable for many families by adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of a trip.
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said the announcement of £20 packages is "great news – but only for Tui customers".
He urged the government to “reduce the cost of testing across the board, rather than have consumers rely on a system that is currently fragmented and flawed”.
More on UK travel
‘Perfectly legal’: UK citizens flouting hotel quarantine by flying to Turkey
England to give travellers a fortnight’s notice of changes to quarantine-free green list
Summer travel: expect testing and masks for some time to come
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
