Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will restart its Algarve holiday programme next week with Portugal set to be added to the UK’s travel corridor list at the weekend.
It comes after transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on Thursday (20 August) quarantine-free travel to Portugal would resume during the early hours of Saturday morning (22 August).
The Foreign Office has also made mainland Portugal exempt from its global no-travel advisory; it had previously only lifted the advisory in respect of Madeira and the Azores.
The change in travel advice will allow Jet2.com and Jet2holidays to restart flights and holidays to the mainland on Monday (24 August).
Flights to Faro will open up Portugal’s popular Algarve region, where Jet2 said there was still "strong demand" despite the UK government’s travel advice.
Faro flights will depart from all nine of Jet2’s UK bases – Belfast International, Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle.
Jet2 said its Faro programme would complement its ongoing Madeira programme, with the Portuguese archipelago having been exempt from the FCO’s no-travel advisory since early-July.
It is currently operating flights to Madeira’s capital Funchal from Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Stansted.
Steve Heapy, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive, said: “We welcome this change in government advice which means customers can once again look forward to enjoying their well-deserved holidays in the stunning Algarve region.
"With flights and holidays operating to Faro, in addition to Madeira, we are thrilled to be offering customers two fantastic options in Portugal.
“Despite the government advice that has been in place, the demand for flights and holidays to Portugal has remained strong, so we are looking forward to resuming our operations to Faro in addition to Madeira."
Claudia Miguel, Turismo de Portugal’s UK director, added: “As a valued partner, we are delighted Jet2.com and Jet2holidays is recommencing flights and holidays to Faro in addition to Madeira.
"We have consistently maintained our unwavering confidence in the safety of Portugal, and we are delighted to have arrived at a decision which we feel far better reflects the reality of the situation in Portugal.”