Travel restrictions live: Air bridges could yet save our summer holidays as more countries reopen

Thanks for joining us today. Here's what we learnt:

• It's official: from June 8 there will be a quarantine imposed on all arrivals to the UK
• The travel industry is furious about it
• But 'air bridges' could be back on the agenda
• Jet2 has announced it will recommence flights and holidays on July 1
• Shearings, the coach company, has collapsed
• Passport renewal backlog could delay travel plans
• But one way or another, we will enjoy a summer holiday this year. Nick Trend outlines three beachy scenarios

The coach holidays provider has fallen into administration, leaving its 2,500 employees out of work and thousands of customers' plans cancelled.

Specialist Leisure Group (SLG), which owns the company, confirmed the news this afternoon. Other brands under the umbrella, all of which have ceased trading with immediate effect, include UK Breakaways, Coast & Country Hotels, Bay Hotels, Country Living Hotels, and Wallace Arnold Travel.

In a statement from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) trade body,  Chief Executive Graham Vidler said:

“This is a sad day for all those involved with Shearings and the wider coach tourism industry, our immediate thoughts are with those employees who now face an uncertain future. Today’s events show the need for the Government to urgently step in and provide support to the wider coach tourism industry, during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been lacking to date."

He added: “Customers who have booked coach package tours with Shearings are protected by the Government-approved consumer protection scheme Bonded Coach Holidays (BCH). They will be contacted by the administrator who will inform them of how to make a claim."

“I fully expect the majority of people will do the right thing and abide by these measures,” said Priti Patel at this evening's briefing. “But we will take enforcement action against the minority of people who endanger the safety of others.”

Given the potential for a significant fine, it would not be advisable to defy the proposed measures. However, the Government has not given specific details on how carefully the rules would be enforced. It merely states that passengers arriving in the UK and subject to the 14-day rule “could be contacted regularly throughout this period” and that “public health authorities will conduct random checks in England to ensure compliance with self-isolation requirements”.

Emma Featherstone delves further into the topic.

While most hotels around the globe face the lowest occupancy rates seen in decades, a handful of ultra-luxury resorts in the Maldives still have more than a third of their villas occupied. Their guests? The very rich

"At one point, right before the global lockdown started, there were five private jets just waiting for us to give the OK for arrival," a spokesperson of one of the still-open resorts shared with Telegraph Travel. 

Chris Schalkx has the full scoop.

The luxury COMO group will reopen five of its hotels on June 30: Cocoa Island in the Maldives; Metropolitan Bangkok; Point Yamu, Phuket; Shambhala Estate and Uma Ubud, both in Bali. COMO Uma Canggu, also in Bali, has already reopened, while COMO The Treasury in Perth, Australia, is set to open its doors again on June 12.

Telegraph Travel hotel reviewer Travis Levius said of COMO Uma Canggu: "Keeping with the 'uma' (which translates as local) concept, COMO Uma Canggu is an antithesis to the brand's two tropical, traditional Balinese resorts based in Ubud, giving off Malibu vibes congruent with Canggu's boho-chic reputation. The hotel has three sections, all with disparate looks: the white-on-white lobby space, a vibrantly designed beach club, and sleek pool-flanked residential units with sprouting foliage fronting each balcony."

Boutique hotel The Dylan in Amsterdam has announced a reopening date of June 1 . 

The Netherlands began a phased reopening of the country on May 11. On June 1 restaurants, cafés and bars can reopen, although with limits on numbers.

Some hotels, which closed during the pandemic as leisure travel became non-existent, are interpreting this as the best day to reopen as the city begins to come back to life. The Dylan, which has 40 rooms spread through two historic canal-side buildings in a prime Amsterdam location, is one such hotel. 

What is it like on the ground in the Dutch city as it emerges from lockdown? Our expert Rodney Bolt has more.

Experts from the travel industry have widely condemned the Government’s plans to enforce a two-week quarantine on UK arrivals, branding the regulations “unnecessary” and “senseless”. 

A spokesperson for national trade body Airlines UK told Telegraph Travel:

“Introducing a quarantine at this stage makes no sense and will mean very limited international aviation at best. It is just about the worst thing the Government could do if their aim is to restart the economy. Thousands of jobs and the recovery of the UK economy depend on re-establishing air links as soon as possible.”

Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, has warned that with such restrictions in place, there simply won’t be sufficient demand to resume passenger services before "August at the earliest.”

Read all the reaction here.

The biggest indication that we might yet salvage our summer holiday came earlier this week when the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced plans to create “air bridges” with other nations, effectively exempting certain countries from a 14-day quarantine on arrival into the UK. Today's Number 10 announcement formally confirms this for the first time.

So what is an air bridge? When could they come in? And where will we be able to travel to? Greg Dickinson has the lowdown.

Jet2 has announced that it will recommence operations starting July 1, both for its flights and holidays programme. This is despite the government's plans to introduce a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine period for anyone entering the UK, including Britons returning from abroad. The FCO advice continues to warn against all but essential travel.

A spokesperson said:

"Customers who were due to travel before July 1 do not need to contact us. We are continuing to proactively contact customers to discuss their options, one of which is rebooking their holiday to a later date. If a customer has a booking that is due to depart on or after July 1, the booking is subject to our normal terms and conditions."

Jet2 grounded all its flights in March and until today, had planned to return to the skies in mid-June. More details to follow on exactly how the company plans to get things moving again.

Northern California's wine country is kicking back into gear. After being shuttered for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sonoma County wineries are finding creative ways to welcome guests back despite strict new regulations, writes Dana Rebmann.

Jordan Winery is now offering guided hiking excursions on its 1,200-acre estate in the Northern California city of Healdsburg. The decision to be one of the first to reopen came after health officials relaxed closure rules for public and private parks in the area. 

Hikes are limited to 10 guests, by appointment only and guests are required to bring masks. At the trek’s conclusion, hikers are given a to-go charcuterie picnic lunch including a bottle of wine to self-serve.

Read the full story here.

Madrid is at last ready for its strict lockdown measures to be eased, allowing for outdoor dining and gatherings of up to 10 people from Monday, the regional health department said today.

Bars and restaurants in the Spanish capital will be permitted to reopen on pavements and terraces, while churches will also reopen, and people will be free to travel within the province.

Along with Barcelona, Madrid was hit particularly severely by the outbreak and both cities have remained in full lockdown while other regions in Spain have been lifting measures since Monday; among them the Canary Islands and the Balearics.

According to the state-owned TV channel TVE, Barcelona’s restrictions will be similarly eased. Beaches there were opened for walking this week, but public swimming and sunbathing remain banned for now.

Don't pack your bags just yet. For now, Spain's borders are closed and anyone arriving will have to observe a two-week quarantine. The country announced on May 18 that it hopes to reopen its borders by the end of June. 

• Meanwhile, read our exclusive: Plans for British tourists to go on 'trial holiday' to the Canary Islands in July

A Pakistani domestic passenger plane has crashed in a residential area on approach to Karachi airport after reporting trouble with its landing gear, reports Ben Farmer.

The Airbus 320 belonging to the national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, crashed on a service from Lahore coming in to land at Jinnah International airport.

A total of 99 passengers and eight crew were onboard,  a spokesman for the country's civil aviation authority told AP. There was no immediate word of casualties. Britain's High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, said the UK was in touch with local authorities to see if there were British casualties.

Read the full story here.

Europe’s largest tour operator has apologised to frustrated customers for refund delays after a wave of criticism for its handling of cancelled holidays.

The travel firm has now announced a new self-service refund system on its website that it claims will streamline the process, allowing thousands to finally claim their money back while relieving pressure on its beleaguered customer service staff. Those with holidays booked up to August 31 are also now able to make free amendments to their travel dates, provided they do so by June 30.

In an email sent to hundreds of thousands of customers, with the subject line “We’re sorry”, Tui’s managing director for UK & Ireland, Andrew Flintham, said: “I’d like to apologise for the frustration you may have felt. I’d like to assure you that we’re dedicated to doing everything we can to make things better.”

But some, including Which? Travel, are claiming that despite improvements to the user experience, Tui’s refund policy still flouts the law.

Tom Mulvihill has more.

In addition to closed borders and quarantine periods, another hurdle has emerged that could prevent Britons travelling abroad this year. 

Fears have been raised that if travel restrictions are lifted in the summer or early autumn, then millions may not be able to travel due to a backlog of expired passports. The Passport Office, which usually issues more than five million passports a year, shut up shop when the lockdown was enforced on March 24 and has only been operating in a limited capacity since.

It has been estimated that approximately 500,000 passports expire each month, meaning that there could already be more than a million people in need of a new one.

​Emma Beaumont has the story.

Some 95% of the country’s hotels have been closed since the beginning of March, but they have now been given then green light to reopen as the Israeli government eases its lockdown restrictions.

While Dan Tel Aviv has remained open during the entire pandemic, the Dan Hotel chain has announced that it will be accepting guests at Dan Caesarea and Dan Eilat from this week. Social distancing measures and new health and safety protocols will be introduced in the hotels.

Sharon E Bershadsky, Director of the Israel Government Tourist Office UK, said:

“We are thrilled to see the Israel tourism industry begin to open up again – seeing the smiling faces of Israel’s people back on the beaches sunbathing or swimming is priceless. We’re also celebrating the arrival of the first visitors to the City of David and Mount Carmel to Caesarea, Megiddo, Masada and the Dead Sea. The future of travel is bright - we are currently working with industry partners and friends to make sure the travel in Israel is even more exciting and enjoyable for our UK travellers and we look forward to welcoming them back soon.

Just like TV quiz show Blockbusters, Berlin's Tegel Airport was dominated by hexagons, and has inspired a cultish devotion, writes Christopher Beanland.

From a plane window you can appreciate that the whole thing is shaped like a giant hexagon, while at ground level the senary shapes recur in the paving and the ceilings.

Sadly, we won't be seeing that view again, because Tegel is to close on June 1 – ostensibly for two months, though the likelihood of it ever re-opening is slimmer than your chances of getting into Berghain, as Berlin's delayed and derided new Brandenburg Airport is set to replace it on October 31.

 Read the full story.

Looking to go on a day trip this Bank Holiday weekend? According to our poll of Telegraph readers yesterday, 25% of you are.

So our experts have rounded up seven lesser-known beauty spots across the country, from the Forest of Bowland to the Suffolk Coast.

 Read the full article here.

As Australia begins to ease restrictions imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19, Australians are being encouraged to abandon overseas travel and explore their own “backyard”.

The Love Australia Project, funded by Tourism Australia, aims to reignite the domestic travel market once the lockdown ends.

“Australians may not be able to travel across our wide brown land at present, but those who can should definitely be dreaming and planning to tick off some bucket list items when it’s safe do so,” says Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham.

Read the full story here.

The middle and later months of 2020 mark the 400th anniversary of the departure of the Mayflower and its sibling the Speedwell for the hopeful shores of the New World. And significant celebrations had been planned.

Not just in the Devon incarnation of Plymouth in which the main voyage commenced, and in the Massachusetts successor-version in which the “Pilgrims” on board would carve out their second lives - but in ports along the south coast of England that were also touched by the story, and in the Holland where some of the initial chapters of the narrative were written.

All this, of course, was to reckon without Covid-19 and another outing for the regularly-quoted and much-paraphrased Robert Burns line about how “the best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry”. Considerable work has gone into the anniversary preparations, on both sides of the Atlantic - but as the virus continues to linger and lockdowns remain in place, more and more dates in the diary are at real risk of tumbling into the never-never.

Chris Leadbeater has the story.

Think again.

Tom Mulvihill explains the rules on camping in the UK.

While hopes are high among UK campsites hope for summer boom and the Government’s relaxation of lockdown rules is providing people with the scope to move around the country with greater freedom, all campsites and caravan parks are to remain closed in accordance with health protection regulations.

A tweet from Tourism Minister, Nigel Huddlestone, sets it out in no uncertain terms: “You and your household can head outdoors for your physical and mental wellbeing in England. But be respectful to local people and communities. You must adopt social distancing at all times. Then return to your primary home – no overnight stays, including second homes and holiday homes.”

Naturally this extends to free camping – the practice of pitching your tent on any bit of public land that suits. Under normal circumstances this is only legal on Dartmoor in England and across most areas of Scotland, but under current restrictions it is strictly prohibited in both countries, and anyone caught will incur a large fine.

Find out when UK campsites will reopen, here.

Poland will extend its ban on international flights until June 6, while a ban on domestic flights will be extended to May 31.

Poland's Covid-19 figures are lower than much of Europe. There have been 20,379 cases and 973 deaths to date. The country began lifting restrictions on April 20, when parks and forests could reopen; museums reopened last week, while restaurants opened their doors this week.

The government is set to give details on its planned 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in the UK.

Speaking at the Number 10 press briefing this afternoon, the Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to say that police will carry out up to 100 daily spot-checks on people who have arrived in the UK, whether on holiday or returning home.

But what are your odds of getting checked? Prior to the pandemic, around 200,000 passengers would arrive in the UK per day. At that rate, your odds of getting caught would be approximately 2000 to 1. Even if the number of arrivals in the UK is a quarter of the pre-pandemic rate (say, 50,000 arrivals) as the travel sector slowly reopens, your odds of getting checked would be 1 in 500.

The message is loud and clear from the Peak District, which posted a Tweet asking people to think twice before visiting.

Brightonhas politely said "we're not quite ready for you to visit just yet".

While the Devon and Cornwall Police says it can't wait to see us – just not right now.

Rob Crossan has written about what an unpleasant place "stay away UK" has become.

Raymond Blanc's Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and the Belmond Cadogan in London have been announced as the country's first major hotel reopenings, on July 14 and July 4 respectively.

The Belmond group's first hotel reopenings will be its Splendido, Portofino and Cipriani, Venice properties in Italy, on June 19. These will be followed by the Belmond Charleston Place in South Carolina on June 25,  then Belmond Hotel Caruso, on the Amalfi Coast, and the Grand Hotel Timeo in Sicily, on July 1, before the group's UK reopenings begin three days later.

Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons is described by Telegraph Travel's Hotel Hit Squad columnist Hattie Garlick as:

"Oxfordshire manor house meets French fancy. There is the archetypally British: manicured lawns, croquet games, 15th-century ponds. The fanciful: Japanese ornamental gardens, elaborately and individually designed rooms (one, Jade, is inspired by a paddy field that sparked Raymond Blanc's imagination). Plus, of course, the foodie: a restaurant that takes centre stage, and improbably pretty kitchen gardens."

Keep following the live blog for more hotel reopening dates.