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TUI and Brussels Airlines have their eyes riveted on the consultation committee and … the Easter holidays

There are once again many expectations as the consultation committee approached this Friday evening. One of the most waiting sectors, besides the hotel and catering industry, and that of travel. Will the government lift the ban on non-essential travel?

“For the moment we do not know: no information has filtered”, specifies Sarah Saucin, spokesperson for TUI. “We are of course hoping for a lifting of the ban on April 1, or even sooner, which would be even better. We remain optimistic, but cautious: last week, we fell from the top.”

The decisions of the Codéco will be crucial in view of the Easter holidays which are fast approaching. “The announcements will have a direct impact on the Easter holidays: they start on April 3, and the current ban runs until April 1. The teams are working on several scenarios, but none are currently privileged given the many unknowns. “

One of them is in particular the possible return of colored areas. TUI does not offer any package travel to the red zones, only flights. “So we should see which areas are in orange or green in order to organize ourselves.”

Testing rather than quarantine

Same story with Brussels Airlines, where the date of April 1 is circled in red on the calendar. “From what we hear, Prime Minister De Croo is talking about lifting the ban on non-essential travel on April 1, this would already be a very important step for the sector”, confirms Kim Daenen, spokesperson for the airline. “We also hope that the authorities will focus more on testing and vaccination rather than quarantine, as it really complicates the lives of our travelers.”

And the company is confident when it comes to the health security of a resumption of travel. “A return from travel will not lead to massive displacement. The current supply is not fully restored anyway.” However, travel authorization during the Easter holidays would make it possible to boost traffic, especially at European level. “Currently, we are only operating at 8% of our capacity for flights within Europe.”

While both groups are optimistic, others claim the government could extend the ban until April 15. In this case, it will not be possible for Belgians to go on vacation abroad during the Easter holidays.

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