Plans for a summer holiday in Europe may well be dashed for the foreseeable future as the president of the European Commission warns holidaymakers to wait before making summer holiday plans.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said people should not make any travel plans to the continent for the foreseeable future as it is not clear yet how long the coronavirus pandemic will affect European countries.
She told German newspaper Bild:
“I’d advise everyone to wait before making holiday plans. At the moment, no one can make reliable forecasts for July and August. We will need to learn to live with this virus for many months, probably until next year.”
This comes after France asserted that it would maintain strict border controls until October and asked other EU countries to keep their borders closed until at least September.
President Macron has called for external borders with the passport-free Schengen zone, of which Britain is not a part, to remain closed until September. Last night Macron announced that France’s lockdown will be extended for another four weeks until May 11.
There is a huge concern in both the Canary Islands and the Balearics, which include Ibiza and Majorca, that this years’ holiday season will be wiped out completely.
Meanwhile, the UK government is currently warning against all non-essential global travel and most flights are grounded.
EasyJet has grounded all of its flights indefinitely, while British Airways stopped its flights from Gatwick Airport on April 1.
Read More: Easyjet grounds flights indefinitely
Jet2 has cancelled all flights and holidays until mid-June due to uncertainty about when the restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic would ease.
Read More: Jet2 cancels all flights and holidays
Since 4th April, Britons have been warned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) against all non-essential global travel abroad ‘indefinitely’.