London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2025

Easyjet urges UK to put most of Europe on ‘green’ Covid travel list

Easyjet urges UK to put most of Europe on ‘green’ Covid travel list

Airline cites research that suggests overseas holidays would have little impact on hospital admissions
EasyJet has urged the UK government to declare most of Europe “green” when it publishes its list of permitted destinations for the summer, citing research that suggests travel would have a very limited impact on the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid in the UK.

The airline said analysis showed mass travel to popular destinations such as Spain, Portugal and Greece would not affect the UK’s Covid case rate, and would risk a small number of hospital admissions.

The government is expected to confirm where and when leisure travel will be allowed in the coming weeks, with hopes that holidays could restart from 17 May.

Under the indicative framework set out this month for a traffic light system to categorise all destinations, only countries with high vaccination rates, low case numbers and reliable data will be on the green list – allowing holidaymakers to avoid quarantine on return.

EasyJet said research commissioned from epidemiologists at Yale University in the US showed unrestricted travel from much of Europe would increase hospital admissions by 4%, or six cases in the UK on the current daily average.

Johan Lundgren, the chief executive of easyJet, said: “We are absolutely committed to a safe restart and are confident this can happen while protecting both the health system and the success of the vaccine programme.

“We can show through this research that as of 12 April the UK government should be able to place much of Europe in the low-risk green tier because travel from several countries would not affect the UK case rate, but most importantly it would have very little impact on hospitalisations in the UK.”

He urged the government to publish the countries and parameters for each tier of the traffic-light categorisation as soon as possible, “so consumers get some much-needed clarity on where they can travel”.

He added: “In the meantime, it must do all possible to drive down the cost of testing while reviewing the need for these restrictions. As the rest of the economy emerges from this lockdown with some precautions in place, there is no reason why the same is not possible for travel.”

Lundgren told an Aviation Club webinar: “We are not looking to reopen travel at any cost – we need to protect the NHS and vaccination programme.”

But, he added, the UK was not pursuing a “zero-Covid policy” and it was not viable to seek to keep all cases out – the travel framework could not be zero risk.

While countries such as New Zealand and Australia had in effect shut their borders, he added, “more truck drivers cross the border at Dover alone in five days than the number of people Australia allows in a month”.

He said: “Either we need to learn how to operate with Covid or we need to accept that travel will be highly restricted for many years, with the consequent impact on the UK aviation industry.”

Lundgren said the Yale analysis demonstrated it was safe for much of Europe to be categorised as green, and called on the government to set out any evidence to justify any other classification.

The airline said the Yale research, by Dr Jeffrey Townsend and Dr Alison Galvani, had not yet been submitted for publication or peer reviewed, but would be shortly.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
×