I don’t understand why

I have never been abroad. It just doesn't interest me.
I think there's some beautiful places and scenery in the UK.

Today was the day we had to pay the £4K balance for our holiday to India or we would lose our deposit.
There is little chance of the holiday going ahead and I feel the holiday company Mercury, ethically should have cancelled it and refunded the deposit rather than insist on full payment. Instead we were told that in November if the tour is not going ahead we will be refunded all the money but we must pay by today or forfeit our sizeable deposit.

Fortunately a very savvy employee of Barrhead Travel suggested we could move our deposit to another holiday before today‘s deadline so we have chosen Malta next year.

I’m relating this in case any other Gransnetters find themselves in a similar situation.

My last holiday abroad was 4 years ago. I have had my breaks in the UK since and I agree with LinkyPinky air travel is helping to cause climate change. Not many people went abroad when I was young and I don't think we suffered mental health problems because we didn't get on a plane.

Pleased it's not just us!

When I retired. travelling became my main interest. I do not want to stop travelling and as I am 71 now I do not know how many more years I will be able to travel. I would rather take a risk and enjoy myself than stay home and get depressed because I am not doing what I want.

Wrong, Lulubelle They're not young and thoughtless either, just have enormous government pensions that the poor beleaguered taxpaying UK is paying for!

Former government employees (I presume you mean teachers, nurses, police & other public servants?) paid for their own pensions via superannuation contributions, with employers’ contributions in just the same way that any workplace pension is funded.

I paid a fortune into my NHS pension scheme. I even bought extra years to try to make up for having to work part time when my children were young. We went without fancy holidays and consumer must haves in order to do that. It was worth it to me so I'm certainly not being paid for 'by the beleaguered British taxpayer' of which, of course, I'm one.

I agree Bluebelle. Probably what started it all in the first place. Stag and hen do’s abroad, shopping in New York, when you live in the U.K.! Holiday homes everywhere. Business travel, etc etc etc. Just stay at home for goodness sake. We live in a beautiful country, with, in the main, agreeable weather. It should have been stopped completely, but I’m not in charge!?

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. I agree that it doesn't make sense for people to travel abroad on holiday at the moment - holidays are not essential travel. The research is not yet sufficient into the transfer of the virus on planes.
Connected to this is that people/children will be arriving back from holidays and returning to schools this week. Some boarding schools have insisted that children from other countries returned to the UK 2 weeks ahead of the start of term to stay with UK guardians and yet holiday makers can return up to the day before term starts.
IMHO it is pure selfishness.

Well, I have had to carry on working full time all the way through the spring and summer, and frankly I would dearly love to have a week or two off somewhere hot and sunny (it's been generally pretty wet and miserable since May in my neck of the woods - even the so called heat wave only lasted a day or two.) The Bloke and I both have kids living near the Med and we'd planned to visit them this year - but it's not looking likely to happen.

I suppose lockdown was unavoidable but it's time to move on now; we simply can't afford to shield everyone. Death will come to us all, so let's live the time we have left.

But @Rowsie, the whole point is that it isn't just about you but about all those you could spread the infection to simply because you want to do what you want to do.

Some of our family live in Italy and we are in the process of buying a holiday home there so will have to go over at some point. It won't be for a holiday yet and we don't know when we will see the family again. It's all very difficult.

We normally go on few holidays abroad every year but not this year. Haven't really missed it at all. Had a week away in Tenby for my birthday and off to Devon next and we're enjoying it just as much as our foreign holidays. Saved a lot of money too. Win win situation!

Hear hear BlueBelle

What is SO necessary about going abroad !

We had a holiday booked last year and I said that no way would I be going, and I didn't I can't think of anything worse at this moment in time, all the uncertainly , having to wear masks in the seering heat ( it's bad enough for the half hour in the supermarket!!) and then having to quarantine on return! where the heck is the joy in all THAT !

Even thinking about next year is a no no

I don't mind if people decide to take the obvious risk by holidaying at the current time but I do despair of their pathetic bellyaching when a sudden quarantine/lockdown is put in place and they seek compensation or exclusion from whatever the new order is. The obvious potential consequences are not rocket science.

I am hoping to go on holiday to Cyprus next week. I don’t consider myself as selfish, I work for the nhs and like many of my colleagues have had very little time off. I will be having a Covid-19 test before I fly.
The cost to holiday in the uk is double and the weather is unpredictable. I will maintain social distancing, sanitizer and wear a mask as normal.The risk in certain countries is actually less than the uk.

I agree

I won’t be travelling this year but I’d like to see my son And family next year please, not seen for nearly two years.

Oh and I won’t be holidaying in the uk either, far too expensive.

Furret what the scientist said is actually correct. There are many misconceptions about air conditioning on board an aircraft. I am air cabin crew and the pilots have explained to us quite clearly, that the air-con is circulated briefly from ceiling to floor - not along the length of the plane. The air is renewed every 3 to 4 minutes (pulled in through the engines I believe) as opposed to every 11 to 12 minutes in a static building with air conditioning. So germs are not circulating for hours on end. There are also Hepa Surgical grade air filters on board, the same as they use in hospital operating theatres.

the air-con is circulated briefly from ceiling to floor - not along the length of the plane
Each seat has its own overhead air supply so that makes sense, unlike an office, classroom or shop.

From one airline's website:
Every aircraft in the Singapore Airlines Group fleet is equipped with HEPA* filters, which remove more than 99.9% of the microbes in the air. Cabin air is also refreshed every two to three minutes throughout the flight.

We are in New Zealand and I'm not flying anywhere until we have a vaccine. Even with domestic airlines they are transporting covid isolation people between cities due to high numbers of New Zealandlanders returning home.

quizzer I can’t believe your husband has seen EVERYTHING he wants to see in the UK! This island is inexhaustible for interesting places as Bill Bryson says. It takes an American to point this out to us...
I adore my trips abroad nevertheless and my Orient Express trip is postponed until the Spring GW. I do agree with those who say the whole palaver of travelling abroad at the moment with masks and distancing etc defeats the object of a relaxing holiday.
It amuses me to think how, all being well, 2021 is going to explode with weddings, holidays etc.
It’s going to be a busy year?

We were in Crete earlier in the year when they locked us down. Nobody could leave either by plane, boat or car. We were there for nearly four months and due to family problems desperate to get home by the fourth month. As they lifted the restrictions we had to take three flights across Europe to get back to the Uk. During the time we were there, the Greek govt were extremely strict on people being out about with no good reason. Fines of €150 euros each were applied if you were out without good reason. Covid cases were down to none by the time we left. Although on an island we never had a single food shortage either. As restrictions were lifted slightly everyone coming on to the islands were Covid tested. Coming home to the UK we were not tested once.

Crete is an island as is the UK and I cannot understand why our government did not do the same. Why was travel not suspended immediately? Because our government put the economy before lives unfortunately. I am not anti government and voted for this government as the lesser of two evils but I am thoroughly dismayed at the way they dealt with the virus.

I am also thoroughly dismayed at people’s behaviour too. Selfishness in filling up trolleys and leaving others without. Selfishness at going out and mixing without thought for anyone else. Selfishness even now at not wearing masks to protect others.

I have to say I was ashamed of being British and couldn’t explain to my Greek friends why we behaved like this.

Lucca my family heard that Australian borders will be closed until the end of 2021, by which time DH and I could be disinclined to travel that far, we'll be getting too old.

People can keep all their holidays, for those of us unable to see families it's not a happy time.