Travel with Katie Butler: The implementation of ETIAS has been delayed until 2024

Katie Butler writes: A sign of the disruption to come started to trickle through on Thursday evening with a handful of emails regarding customers due to travel on early morning flights from Leeds Bradford, advising in advance that their flights would be delayed the next day due to the predicted heavy snowfall.

We managed to get hold of all those customers and advise of the scheduled delays. Thankfully on catching up with everyone due to fly, the next morning we were happy to see on Flight Radar the global airline tracking website system, that all our departures had taken off safely and were on their way to much better weather.

Flying back into Leeds Bradford we, or should I say our customers, were not all that lucky, with one customer diverted to East Midlands and then coached back to Leeds, nevertheless, safely at home when we called to make sure they had got back safely and had been looked after by Jet2.

Thankfully the disruption was short-lived and of course, as we know, the snow didn't hang around for too long.

I spoke previously about the visa scheme or European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), that will be required when travelling to Europe. This has been delayed into 2024 and so more on this when we know the finer detail.

However, it was announced last week that the UK government is to introduce an Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme for overseas visitors coming to the UK, this is scheduled to begin later this year.

ETAs will be a requirement worldwide for visitors who do not need a visa for short stays, including those visiting from Europe. Most visitors will be able to apply via a mobile app and will receive a swift decision on their application.

British and Irish nationals will not need an ETA when travelling back to the UK.

I also spoke previously regarding the intention to remove the 100ml limit on liquids in hand baggage with the intention to have this scrapped at all UK airports by June 2024. Teeside Airport it would seem have won that race and are the first UK airport to scrap the 100ml limit. The regional airport said the scanners have been installed in both security lanes at the airport meaning the 100ml limit can be removed in time for the Easter holidays.

Fingers crossed for Manchester and Leeds Bradford to have this in place sooner rather than later, although, as this is not yet an international scheme, those travelling with hand baggage only and returning back from an airport overseas with the system not yet in place should be wary of what they take out.

One in three bookings are to travel out within the next 12 weeks, and 12 per cent of our sales last week were for April. In previous years our late booking season would ordinarily only start in April. Booking patterns have certainly changed since the start of the pandemic and it is clear that many more of you are opting to book to travel within weeks of booking. Top selling destinations last week were Tenerife and Majorca.