Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the flight - The Great British Take-off for sunshine holidays starts today!
Since the dark, miserable days of winter lockdown, it's been a long wait for Brits who have been dreaming of soaking up the rays by a beach or pool in Europe's hotspots.
After a few squeaky bum time on-off moments on Friday, when getaways to the mainland of Portugal looked in the balance, it's now all systems go for trips to green list destinations today.
(Feel free raise a glass of vinho verde to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Portugal for sorting out the paperwork. Obrigado, obrigado, obrigado!)
As we all know all too well, Covid is the unwanted gift that keeps on giving and it's been an awful 14 months of chaos and disappointment for holidaymakers and the beleaguered British travel industry, but now the cautious but oh-so-welcome modest restart for international leisure flights is finally under way.
Portugal and her Atlantic island groups top the green list booking charts, and Gibraltar offers a great home-from-home sunshine break, but I expect Brits will also want to try a getaway to Iceland.
It's spectacular volcanic scenery rather than sunshine we'll soak up there, but the raw, otherworldliness of the Land of Fire and Ice does not disappoint. Just take an anorak (and quite a lot of money, it's not cheap).
If you fancy some green list off-the-grid remoteness, maybe try the South Sandwich Islands, somewhere way down in the South Atlantic. I hear the weather there is absolutely delightful at this time of the year.
Wherever we go - and sadly the current conflict in Israel and Gaza rules out trips to Tel Aviv - we'll have to put up with the possibility of long queues at airports and whatever Covid tests, vaccination status and rules are required in the holiday 'new normal'. So be it, public safety must come first.
Monday, May 17 is hopefully the beginning of a safe sunshine summer which will see more destinations added over the coming weeks - fingers crossed for Spain's islands and parts of Greece coming on stream in June.
For now the first wave of happy Brits are checking in at airports – and the Mirror's Travel Desk team will be on board with them flying to Lisbon and Madeira.
PS tip of the day – if it is your first time to Portugal, do try a pastel de nata (custard tart) ...bet you can't eat just one!
ADVICE
Given these ongoing uncertain times, I recommend buying a package holiday with the added security of UK Civil Aviation Authority ATOL (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) protection, which helps you if your travel company, airline or hotel goes out of business.
You should also benefit from better options for cancellations, alterations and refunds.
However, if things do go wrong, it's essential that you do not cancel your holiday yourself as you may scupper your chances of a refund. So wait to hear what your options are from your tour operator.
If you are arranging your own travel, with separate flights and hotel, it's always savvy to pay on a credit card if you can – that way you are covered for up to £30,000 under section 75 of the UK Consumer Credit Act, though this may not apply to bookings made via a third party.
Never travel abroad without a suitable travel insurance policy and it's definitely worth considering buying one with extra cover for coronavirus.
