No direct flights home from Greek islands that remain on travel corridor

Wednesday, 13 Nov, 2020 0

Five Greek islands have been kept on the travel corridor – but no direct flights in the low season mean arrivals into the UK will still have to quarantine.

The latest government advice has been described as a ‘farce’ by one Greek specialist, given holidaymakers can’t fly anywhere under the current lockdown anyway.

Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Kos have remained on the safe list, while mainland Greece and other islands have been taken off in the latest government guidance, announced on Thursday evening.

The quarantine ruling comes into effect from 4am on Saturday.

Sunvil Managing Director Chris Wright said: "Leaving Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos and Kos on the travel corridor list is pointless as now that we are in winter there are no direct flights to any of these islands from the UK so you would need to travel through Athens to get back to the UK meaning you would then have to quarantine anyway!

"As currently you aren’t allowed to leave the UK unless for essential reasons then the whole thing is just a farce.

"Added to the fact that Greece is now in its own lockdown, it makes the situation even more confusing for the travelling public.

"Maybe as these islands were listed as ones that would be extending the tourist season it was thought that there would still be tourists there."

Mathilde Robert, Managing Director of Planet Holidays, said: "Unless I have missed something I cannot see any direct flights from the Greek islands to the UK, so everybody would need to come back via Athens and everyone would have to isolate."

Elsewhere, Club Med said it has seen a 78% increase in web views on its Turks & Caicos destination page after the islands were added to the UK travel corridor list and a 34% increase in booking enquiries for its Club Med Turkoise resort.

Lisa

Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.

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