Travel concern over omicron triggers Christmas holiday bargains

Exclusive: Fortnight’s package holiday over Christmas and New Year on Spain’s Costa Blanca is selling for just £25 per day

Cross purposes: A Christmas holiday in Malta, flying from Manchester for a week, costs £258 including flights and B&B accommodation (Getty/iStock)

As holiday sales stall due to concerns about the omicron variant, unprecedented bargains are available for escapes over the festive season.

Tui is selling a two-week holiday on Spain’s Costa Blanca over Christmas and New Year for just £25 per person per day. The deal from Britain’s biggest holiday company departs from Cardiff on Saturday 18 December, returning on New Year’s Day. The £350 per person price includes flights with baggage, transfers and self-catering accommodation.

A spokesperson for Tui said: “We’ve got some great Christmas deals available for customers who want the ease of getting away from their local airport, and who prefer to swap the winter temperatures at home for some warmth and sunshine instead.”

Tui is also subsidising test packages.

Rival Jet2 Holidays has a one-week Malta holiday, flying from Manchester on 19 December and returning on Boxing Day, for £258 per person – including baggage, transfers and accommodation with breakfast. The daily cost per person works out at under £37.

Air fares for Christmas breaks have also plummeted. Flying from Gatwick to Faro in Portugal on 22 December, back on Boxing Day, easyJet has a fare of £64 return.

From Liverpool to Alicante on 22 December, Ryanair is charging even less – just £20 return, coming back on Boxing Day or either of the two following days. But testing costs are likely to increase the total price to £100 or more.

Over a normal festive season, prices would be far higher. But worries about the “tidal wave” of omicron that the prime minister warned about, together with onerous and expensive travel restrictions introduced over the past two weeks, are depressing demand.

Leaders of UK airlines, together with Ryanair of Ireland, have written to Boris Johnson saying: “The layering of additional travel restrictions, introduced at short notice without consultation or discernible strategy, have disrupted Christmas plans and severely undermined customer sentiment just before the crucial Christmas and New Year booking season.”

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “The onerous and constantly punitive restrictions imposed by the government have worked wonders in suppressing demand for an already fragile economic sector.

“Month on month we have seen sales decrease by 40 per cent. When you consider most of the sector has traded at minus 90 per cent since March 2020 you can start to comprehend the devastating impact restrictions continue to have for the sector.

“This isn’t just about holidays, it’s jobs, businesses and people’s livelihoods.”

All prices checked between 9 and 10am on Monday 13 December