By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – Shares in UK-based airlines were soaring on Friday morning after some reported a surge in bookings following the UK easing of travel restrictions.
Earlier this week, the UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that fully-vaccinated passengers would be able to avoid quarantining upon their return from ‘amber’ list countries.
Countries on the ‘amber’ list include the most popular tourist destinations for UK travellers, including Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Portugal.
EasyJet (LON:EZJ) reported a 400% increase in bookings to countries on the ‘amber’ list in the wake of the announcement, the BBC reported.
IAG's (LON:ICAG) British Airways recorded a near 100% increase in website views “within a couple of hours” of the government’s announcement.
Although passengers returning from these countries no longer need to isolate if they have had both jabs, the UK still requires those returning to take a Covid test before they arrive home and then a second test once they return to UK shores.
The travel plans also rely on other countries following suit. Germany has relaxed its rules for passengers from the UK, saying fully vaccinated passengers will not need to quarantine. However, not all countries have relaxed their rules and Italy still requires passengers arriving from the UK to self-isolate for 5 days upon their arrival.
The UK government’s latest plans are specifically for UK travellers returning but Westminster is “actively working” on allowing fully-vaccinated foreign travellers to also avoid quarantine restrictions. Shapps said he hopes that this will be the case “within weeks”.
Other airlines, including Ryanair (LON:RYA) and Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ), were also trading higher, as were tour operators Jet2 (LON:JET2) and Tui (LON:TUIT).
Jet engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) is also set to benefit from the easing of restrictions and shares were also trading with gains on Friday morning.