For the second winter in three years, many children – and parents – who have set their hearts on a visit to Santa Claus in Finnish Lapland face disappointment.
Britain's biggest holiday company, Tui, has suspended all its holidays planned for November and December “due to the continued uncertainty surrounding travel and the unprecedented impact of Covid-19.”
The company said: “With the rapidly evolving travel environment and a Covid test soon to be mandatory for Finland, TUI UK and Ireland has decided that on this occasion, it would not be able to deliver on this promise and wanted to remove uncertainty for families.”
Finland, along with Norway, is in the EU’s new “orange” travel category – every other major European country, including the UK, is red.
Currently entry to Finland is prohibited for most non-resident foreign nationals entering the country. The Foreign Office says: "If you’re eligible to enter Finland from the UK, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival.”
Many Lapland trips from the UK last only a day.
Tui says: “All customers impacted by this decision are currently in the process of being contacted to discuss their options, which include the opportunity to amend for next year, receive a refund credit note with a generous incentive or choose to request a full refund.”
The Lapland specialist Transun of Oxford is continuing to sell a programme of day trips.
In a normal winter, hundreds of charter flights operate from the UK to Finnish Lapland – centred on the city of Rovaniemi, almost on the Arctic Circle, and the more northerly region of Enontekio.
The standard offering is a day trip, typically costing £500 per person and packing in a range of activities.
Usually there is thick snow cover by November, but in 2018 many trips were cancelled due to unseasonably warm weather with almost no snow covering.
