Coverage of the move, though, was otherwise dominated by build-up to an announcement this morning of how much household energy bills will increase and what the government will do about it. A mortgage rate rise is also due.

However, there is some good news for travel with New Zealand partially reopening to travellers and setting out its plans to finally ease its tough Covid border measures.

Here are the travel headlines on Thursday 3 February.

France bans unboosted visitors

Half-term holidaymakers were dealt another blow as France banned travellers from entering if they were double-jabbed nine months ago or more. It means Britons wanting to go skiing or on city breaks for half-term will have to get a booster if they received their second dose any earlier than May last year. (The Daily Mail)

New Zealand confirms phased border reopening

New Zealand has announced a phased reopening of borders as the country starts to ease some of the world’s toughest Covid restrictions. Vaccinated citizens in Australia can go home from 27 February, while jabbed citizens elsewhere will be allowed in from 13 March. They must self-isolate for 10 days but the mandatory quarantine programme will be scrapped. (BBC News)

Which? survey reveals worse airline for Covid refunds

Ryanair has been voted the worst short-haul airline for handling refunds during the pandemic. The budget airline was given a refund rating of just 47% by consumer group Which? Jet2 was best, with 84% of consumers happy. (Sky News)

Ireland passport backlog frustrates travellers

Passport applicants have complained about lengthy delays processing their travel documents as Ireland’s passport office struggles to deal with a backlog of more than 100,000 applications. A recruitment drive has begun to ease the situation (The Times)

Household energy cap to be revealed

Millions of people facing a spike in energy costs will find out today how much more they must pay. Ofgem’s new price cap will affect 22 million homes. The regulator’s new cap for England, Wales and Scotland, to be announced at 11.00am, will take effect in April. A typical household may face an annual increase of more than £600. (BBC News)

Sunak expected to soften energy bills

The chancellor is expected to announce billions of pounds in state-backed loans, giving all households a £200 discount off their energy bills. It would mean taxpayers underwriting loans to energy suppliers, with the suppliers passing the money to households as a rebate on bills. Money would be recouped from customers in later years (Sky News)

Millions to get council tax rebate

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to ease the cost of living rise by saying people in council tax bands A to C will receive rebates funded by government grants. Around 15 million are set to benefit. (The Times)

Interest rates ‘set to rise’ today

Households with mortgages face another brake on discretionary spending with expectations of a rise in interest rates today. A 0.25% rise is expected to help quell inflation which, at 5.4%, is three times the Bank of England target. (Sky News)