There was relief, though, for those travellers stuck in hotel quarantine who have been told by the government that they can leave early.
Elsewhere, Malaysia is tightening its entry rules as it records its second Omicron case and visitor figures show Bail welcomed only 45 international guests during the first 10 months of 2021.
Here are the headlines the travel industry woke up to on Thursday (16 December).
Cut back on plans over Christmas, says Whitty
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has urged people to scale back their plans for socialising during the festive season, as the Omicron variant continues to spread at a “phenomenal pace”, leading to a record daily 78,000 Covid cases in the UK on Wednesday (16 December). Whitty described Omicron as a “really serious threat”. (The Times)
Hotel quarantine guests can leave and will be refunded
People in quarantine hotels in England have been told they can leave early, provided they test negative for Covid. Health secretary Sajid Javid also confirmed guests will be refunded for the days they have not used. The move comes after the government removed all 11 countries from the red list earlier this week. (BBC News)
Malaysia tightens Covid rules after reporting second Omicron case
The south-east Asian country is now requiring all UK travellers to take Covid self-tests every day during their quarantine period. Malaysia is also banning mass gatherings and requiring “high-risk” citizens to receive booster vaccine doses. (The Guardian)
Christmas chaos at Heathrow: Fury as ’thousands’ forced to queue after e-gates ‘break’
Travellers faced long queues to go through passport control at Heathrow after the automatic e-gates suffered another failure. Passengers claimed there were up to 4,000 people backed up through the airport’s immigration area causing queues that lasted for “hours”. (Daily Mail)
Bali only received 45 international tourists in 2021 despite reopening
The Indonesian destination only welcomed 45 international tourists to the island from January to October 2021, due to the imposition of strict border control measures and the closure of its airport. This compares with 6.2 million international arrivals in Bali two years ago and 1.05 million in 2020. (CNN)
Soaring inflation may force rise in interest rates
The Bank of England is under pressure to increase interest rates after the rate of inflation in the UK soared to 5.1%. The bank’s monetary policy committee is due to meet on Thursday (16 December) to decide whether to raise the benchmark borrowing rate to counter rising household bills. (The Telegraph)
