The first passengers jetted off from Manchester Airport this morning as a ban on overseas leisure travel was lifted.
Travellers were pictured queuing at a check in desk at the airport on their way to Portugal as travel restrictions were eased in England and Wales on Monday.
Manchester Airports Group chief executive Charlie Cornish described welcoming passengers back to airports today as “a symbolic moment after the most difficult year in our history”.
Travel firms have reported a surge in demand for trips to Portugal, after the Government put the country on its green list for travel - meaning travellers will not need to self-isolate on their return, and are only required to take one post-arrival test.
EasyJet has added 105,000 extra seats to its flights serving green-tier destinations, while Tui will use aircraft which normally operate long-haul routes to accommodate the surge of people booked to fly to Portugal.
Mr Cornish hailed the resumption of international travel as an “important milestone” but said the limited green list is “not the broader restart our sector or our passengers were hoping for”.
Only a dozen countries and territories are on the green list but most are either remote islands or do not currently allow UK tourists to enter.
Mr Cornish called for a “smarter approach to protecting the UK from variants of concern which would remove the need for costly PCR testing”.
He added: “This big step forward would recognise the scientific evidence which shows that vaccinations, and the effective use of testing, can support safe travel to a much larger group of low-risk countries.”
The Government is advising people not to make non-essential trips to locations on its amber list, which covers popular destinations such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
But this guidance is expected to be ignored by some holidaymakers.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said people should not travel to amber or red list countries “unless it’s absolutely necessary, and certainly not for holiday purposes”.
He told Times Radio on Sunday: “The red and amber list countries are places that you shouldn’t go to unless you have an absolutely compelling reason.”
Those who do travel will be required to self-isolate at home for 10 days on their return, and take two post-arrival tests.
They can end their quarantine early if they receive a negative result from an additional test taken after five days.
