Airlines had hoped to resume services once lockdown was relaxed, but the announcement by the UK government that quarantine measures would be in place by 8 June has thrown plans into disarray.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “By introducing a mandatory 14 day self-isolation for every single traveller entering the UK, the government’s approach will prevent flights from resuming. 

“We are continually reviewing our flying programme and with these restrictions, there simply won’t be sufficient demand to resume passenger services before August at the earliest.”

The carrier said it was “cancelling selected flights up until 12 July” and operating cargo-only services until 30 June.

British Airways said it was allowing changes to bookings for travel until the end of July as well as any new bookings but stopped short of saying when it would resume flights.

“This is a fast-moving situation and we recommend all customers check for the latest on their flight on ba.com,” a spokesperson said.