Source::AP
LONDON,
Stir-crazy Britons rushed to book overseas vacations after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans to slowly ease a national lockdown, boosting optimism that travel restrictions will be removed in time for the summer holiday season.
TUI, the U.K.’s largest tour operator said bookings increased six-fold on Monday, the company’s busiest day in more than a month. Discount airline easyJet said demand for flights more than tripled, and package holiday company Thomas Cook said traffic on its website increased 75%. International travel has nearly ground to a halt globally, so the increases are a sign of hope for the beleaguered industry.
While the plans, which Johnson announced Monday, were welcomed by travel companies, many business leaders were disappointed at the slow pace of re-opening as some restrictions are expected to remain in place until June 21. Others criticized the government for failing to guarantee current levels of support for businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that the U.K.’s unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in December, up 0.1% from the previous month and 1.3% from a year earlier. The number of people on company payrolls has dropped by 726,000 since the pandemic began last February, with 58.5% of the decline coming among people under 25.
But the figures don’t show the full impact of COVID-19 restrictions. Some 1.9 million workers remain on furlough, a government program that covers 80% of the wages for people who aren’t working but remain on their employer’s payroll. Airlines and hospitality businesses have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with restrictions all but shutting down international travel and closing pubs and restaurants for much of the past year.
On March 8, children in England go back to school and people will be allowed to meet one friend or relative for a chat or outdoor picnic. Three weeks later, people will be able to meet in small groups outdoors for sports or relaxation.
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