Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said there is a chance that foreign travel will go ahead from May 17 but said that it depends on factors ‘not in our control’.
A taskforce set up by the government will report on the resumption of international travel on April 12 and the earliest that holidays can start is May 17.
Asked on ITV’s Peston if there is a chance flights could resume from May 17, Shapps said: “Yes, although it depends on lots of factors, many of which are not in our control.
“One of which is the vaccine rollout, which is going great. Over 18 million people have been vaccinated in the UK.
“That, unfortunately, is not the same everywhere else, we’re way ahead, and one of the things we need to look at is if other places aren’t as vaccinated.
“Also lots of people aren’t able to get vaccinations, who make up 21% of our population.
“We can’t have a situation where it’s OK if you’ve been vaccinated, but you can’t elsewhere if you haven’t been. Things like testing can form a part of that.
“These are all the things that we are looking into in this Global Travel Taskforce report on April 12.”
The transport secretary reiterated May 17 would be the earliest that international travel could resume.