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ACS Says it Could be Two Years Until Travel Restrictions are Removed

ACS Says it Could be Two Years Until Travel Restrictions are Removed

Air Charter Service says that travel restrictions could be in place for another two years. The company’s Group Commercial Director Justin Lancaster made the remarks in a blog post on the company’s website.

Lancaster noted that the number of countries imposing restrictions is still very high, which includes various measures from border closures to vaccination and testing requirements.

“We’ve seen lockdown restrictions lifted in many places but due to the nature of travel, restrictions and checks are still very prevalent, looking at it from a global perspective,” says Lancaster. “These restrictions, plus the other issues caused by Covid including delays due to the additional checks, staff shortages, a lack of commercial flights and frequent cancellations, are causing travelers to lose confidence and patience in scheduled services.”

The net effect, says Lancaster, has been an increase in people chartering private jets, with the company recording a 37% increase in charter flights.

However, although ACS predicts that restrictions could be in place for another two years, it notes that restrictions could be further extended if more powerful or transmissible COVID-19 variants appear.

“… a new variant could still be on the horizon, which means restrictions could go on longer or alternatively, many governments may well lift restrictions earlier to make the most of the returning tourism,” says Lancaster. “We saw a spike in travel to Faro after the first lockdown when Portugal was one of the first to relax restrictions, so we could well see governments, looking for similar results to boost their economies.”

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