Boris Johnson is due to outline how England will exit its national lockdown later today and explain how we’ll transition back into the tiered system on 3 December.
Before the current lockdown – which began on November 5 – England was placed into a three-tiered system, with those living in Tier 3 areas – which are considered ‘very high risk’ – facing the toughest restrictions. Whether your holiday could go ahead dependend both on the area where you live and where you are travelling to. However, we will later hear whether harsher changes will be made to each tier.
As soon as the government officially announces the new measures, we’ll update this story.
Other guides that may be useful:
Lockdowns in Scotland, Wales and England and your holiday abroad – can I get a refund?
Travel corridors Q&A – where can you go on holiday
Tier 3 restrictions in England
Government guidance is clear that people in Tier 3, which includes the Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester (from 23/10/20), should not travel to other parts of the UK or stay overnight outside their area.
If you have a UK holiday booked, you should contact the provider and ask for postponement or if that doesn’t suit, a full refund. As with previous lockdowns some holiday cottage companies and other service providers may dispute refunds. We believe, based on CMA guidance, that those affected by Tier 3 lockdowns are due a refund.
The government guidance is less clear when it comes to overseas holidays. You’re still allowed to travel through Tier 3 areas to reach airports, ports and railway stations, which can remain open. But given the advice is not to leave your area, that would seem to include overseas travel.
If you have a holiday booked to the Canary Islands, or other countries on the UK’s travel corridor list your flight or holiday may be going ahead. Unfortunately because the guidance is unclear and isn’t in law, operators and airlines can still operate and it may prove difficult to get a refund.
Many tour operators, like Tui and British Airways Holidays introduced flexible booking policies in recent months. This should allow you to move your holiday to a new date without paying a fee, although you’ll need to pay the difference if the new holiday dates are more expensive. You will usually have to give three to four weeks notice. If you booked a flight in the summer most major airlines airlines had similar flexible booking policies.
Tier 2 restrictions in England
People living in “high risk” Tier 2 locations are allowed to go on holiday outside their area, but only with people in their household or support bubble.
If you’ve booked a holiday in the UK with people you don’t normally live with, you should be entitled to a postponement, refund or an alternative holiday.
The government also says that people in Tier 2 areas should “aim to reduce the number of journeys you make where possible” and avoid public transport. You could consider hiring a car for your trip.
There are no restrictions on travelling abroad, except that you should only travel with people in your household or support bubble. Although the FCDO now warns against travel to most destinations. If you travel to a destination with an FCDO warning it’s likely that your travel insurance will be invalidated.
Can I still travel to Scotland and Wales?
This situation is developing. Travel to Wales is banned from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations in England, from the central belt of Scotland and all of Northern Ireland.
Wales’ ‘firebreak’ lockdown has now ended, but there are still restrictions in place. You can now freely travel throughout Wales, but travelling into England must only be for essential reasons, such as work. You can only travel abroad for essential reasons too, so holidays are still not permitted in the new guidelines.
Scotland has not banned travel, but has advised people to stay away from the central belt, which is Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian, and Forth Valley.
Find out more in our Coronavirus restrictions UK full Q&A
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/11/travel-and-holiday-rules-for-tier-2-and-tier-3-restrictions-qa/