Wow - this will spread it about!

[leafygarden42]

It's the busiest weekend since the pandemic began for airlines and airports, as schools close and the summer holidays begin for millions. Heathrow Airport expects 60,000 passengers to depart daily, while Gatwick says it expects 250 flights a day - up from a low of just 15. Spain is the top destination for UK travellers, followed by Greece

This was taken from the BBC News website.

It honestly seems completely nuts that any country is doing this - and yet - here we are.

Amazing how we all 'need' a holiday so desperately.

@pam290358

We’ve got a very successful vaccine program. Many other countries have not. It’s bloody selfish to risk taking other variants from the UK to countries that may not be able to cope with them.

The majority of people are apparently travelling to Spain and Greece. Who both have better healthcare systems than we do.

My hairdresser is currently in Spain at her villa for the first time in 16 months. Im bloody happy for her.

I agree @LivinLaVidaLoki and Spain has got higher % of fully vaccinated people than uk as per our wold data.

There is a new variant they're trying to identify now so the concern would be it spreading across the world :(

Freedom day is madness.

Went on a UK break - lots of events there but distanced and masked. Got pinged - i am double jabbed, was careful with distancing and wore masks but waiting on test results. I actually went to a show last week and someone sat literally beside me I was 😱 Just to get a better view btw.

@notimagain The solar panels provide enough energy to charge the car plus extra for the house. The car is not used on a daily basis and so is not on charge every day. In non-pandemic times when DH needs to travel further afield he uses the train and a fold-up bike.

For the solar panels, we get paid from the energy company for energy we both generate and use plus a smaller amount for the energy which we return to the grid. The solar panels were installed by the previous owners of the house quite a few years' ago, so we didn't have the initial outlay, and the feed-in tariff is higher than it would be now.

Obviously the panels are more efficient in sunny weather, so I am aware of making use of things during daylight hours and being very careful of electricity use - I am not thriftyhen for nothing!

There will always be new variants @Theworldspinsonmyhead

The sooner we accept it the better ,

I used to work in travel insurance and my old colleagues have said most of the claims at the moment are from travellers who have caught covid abroad (mostly in Europe) and want to claim as they are having to isolate for 2 weeks at their own cost before being allowed to catch a flight back to the uk.
I agree with those who have asked why are people so desperate for a holiday. I didn’t work for 7 months last year and didn’t get Government help so I’m working solid without a break to try and pay if debts we’ve accumulate from trying to live. While we were locked down I just treated it like a holiday from work. Ok so I wasn’t away but I took time to relax, sort the house, gardening, go for walks etc (the whole time worrying how I was going to pay the bills). We all deserve a holiday but goodness have some sense

@LivinLavidaLoki. Wasn’t really talking about the healthcare system, but more about the vaccine rollout - two different things.

Given that we're carrying out something like ten times the number of tests per capita that other countries are, it's no wonder we have more "cases". I'd happily bet money that if other nations upped their testing to the same levels, their "cases" would sky rocket, especially as mainland Europe is so far behind on their vaccination programs. Unless you believe that the virus has magically disappeared from Europe without the benefit of vaccines, then we're generally a safe bet as travellers will largely be vaccinated and also have to have about eleventy-thousand tests just to get to the airport.

@pinkstripeycat - I assume you don’t have children? Cosss the last 18 months has felt as far removed from a holiday as possible. I certainly have not had chance to ‘relax’ or ‘sort out my house’ ‘garden’ .. I did go on 1000 walks with bored to death young kids. I have instead juggled a full time job, two young kids, home schooling & pandemic. It’s been beyond exhausting, beyond difficult. I’m on a warning at work for missing so much time due to my children being at home.

Some people really are ignorant to others. You had it hard with finances. Others had it hard with life in general. I’d have loved to treat lockdown as a holiday. Sadly, I absolutely couldn’t.

@notimagain

it is a better option than using fossil fuels which emit vast amounts of carbon dioxide.

Staying off topic for a moment how do you charge your battery car… Do your solar panels produce enough electricity to do this or is it plugged into the mains, in which case how much fossil fuel are you still using?

I do see the case for electric cars, but they still pollute. Unfortunately since often the pollution is happening remote from the user (both that caused by production and that caused by running the thing) there’s a danger of thinking there are non-polluting……

Most people who have an electric car do know that there are some emissions caused from the creation of the car and its battery, and that using electricity (even if it ism100% sustainable which many energy companies are now starting to offer) does cause pollution too I don't know any EV owners who believe they are a totally non-emissions/non-pollution option. However, they are now significantly less pollution creating than a petrol or diesel car, including the creation and charging of the battery.

40,000 over 3 days at a music festival in a small local park here in Sheffield

[quote pam290358]@LivinLavidaLoki. Wasn’t really talking about the healthcare system, but more about the vaccine rollout - two different things.[/quote]
Depends how you look at it @pam290358 Greece have taken an island based approach and a number of Greek islands are now around 70% fully vaccinated. Which makes them as safe as, if not safer than the UK. Overall the vaccine rate in Greece looks quite low but some of the destinations people are travelling to have a high vaccination rate.

I have juggled a full time job and home working with two small DC. No family support at all for most of it. Still don't feel I'm entitled to a holiday. There will be foreign holidays again, for now, I'm grateful to be able to see my parents and have little trips away.

How do people think we are in this mess?? Where did the delta variant come from? Because they didn't shut the borders when they should have done! I appreciate it's not that straightforward and feel awful for those with families living abroad...but as PPs have said, have a little common sense. No way I'd be going anywhere near Heathrow, it's madness. And as for being double jabbed and 'protected'...the amount of people I know who have had both doses and are still catching it and being very ill with it means I am not being complacent.

I don't agree with festivals taking place either! I want it all to be lifted as much as anyone, but right now the Delta variant is raging out of control, I just don't think this is the time! Feeling grateful to live in Scotland where we are being a bit more cautious.

@Bobholll that sounds awful about being on a warning at work. So very unfair, I'm sorry.

Air travel should be essential only. Can we not see what it's doing to the planet? Think of your children and their future.

@User135644

Air travel should be essential only. Can we not see what it's doing to the planet? Think of your children and their future.

1. Define essential.

1. As mentioned upthread there’s plenty things more damaging to the environment than air travel..doesn’t mean it’s not a subject for debate but let’s not start singling aviation out for special measures out of proportion to the damage.

@User135644

Air travel should be essential only. Can we not see what it's doing to the planet? Think of your children and their future.

And are you going to bail,out the travel and airline companies that will go bankrupt,as a result? Or the thousands of people employed by these companies?

@User135644

Air travel should be essential only. Can we not see what it's doing to the planet? Think of your children and their future.

Anything we do in live should be essential as it’ll damage the planet. End of.

What is essential? Is school essential? Television? Internet? Any form of transport other than walking?