Plans to restart foreign trips could be doomed if the UK government does not consult travellers and reassure them that trips abroad will be safe, affordable and refundable if cancelled, a consumer group says.
The government’s Global Travel Taskforce is due to outline how it will restart international travel, set to reopen no earlier than May 17, when it publishes its report in early April.
But the consumer group, Which?, is concerned that limited consultation with travellers could mean their concerns will not be addressed before international travel reopens.
Today, the group is publishing its list of consumer priorities for travel.
They focus on vital measures to build passengers' confidence about travel safety, accessible and affordable Covid-19 tests, vaccine passports and assurances that they will be refunded for coronavirus travel disruption.
Which? is also urging people to share their experiences with the taskforce, through email or social media, of how the pandemic has affected their travel plans over the past year and their concerns before travel reopens.
For more than a year, the consumer group has been hearing from people who have been let down by their travel provider after the pandemic grounded most international travel, which saw confidence in the industry plunge to a record low.
The Competition and Markets Authority said cancellations and refunds accounted for by far the most complaints to the regulator since April 2020.
The authority received about 47,000 cancellation complaints about holiday companies since March 2020, and more than 10,000 about airlines.
"Confidence in overseas travel has plummeted as a result of the pandemic, and government interventions for the industry and passengers who have been let down by their operator or airline have been woefully insufficient," said Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel.
“The taskforce has a real opportunity to give passengers the confidence to travel again, but it must take their concerns into consideration or else it risks another disastrous summer for passengers and industry."
Which? is also concerned that travellers could face huge costs for testing, which is likely to be required for entry into most destinations this summer.
Most countries now require a negative test before departure and a follow-up on arrival.
Passengers must also have a negative test to return to the UK, and further tests on days two and eight of quarantine.
PCR private tests cost about £120 ($165) each and the possibility of tourists needing up to five tests could price them out of travelling.
Which? also found that test costs in the UK are considerably higher than in other countries.
It found that the cost of tests were much lower in popular destinations across Europe, on average, compared to the UK.
In Italy, for example, the average cost is €86 ($101) a test.
The biog
Fast facts on Neil Armstrong’s personal life:
- Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio
- He earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16 – he could fly before he could drive
- There was tragedy in his married life: Neil and Janet Armstrong’s daughter Karen died at the age of two in 1962 after suffering a brain tumour. She was the couple’s only daughter. Their two sons, Rick and Mark, consulted on the film
- After Armstrong departed Nasa, he bought a farm in the town of Lebanon, Ohio, in 1971 – its airstrip allowed him to tap back into his love of flying
- In 1994, Janet divorced Neil after 38 years of marriage. Two years earlier, Neil met Carol Knight, who became his second wife in 1994
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
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ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
