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The UK government has released further guidelines today, 4 December, on an announcement made yesterday by the country's transport secretary; from 04.00 (local time) on 5 December, certain categories of business travellers, journalists, elite sportpersons, performing arts professionals and television production crew will be exempt from a mandatory 14-day self-isolation requirement on arrival in England, if arriving from a country not on the country's 'travel corridor' list. In the update released today, the eligible business traveller categories were revealed as primarily being for those of a 'director' level or above with activity in the UK related to creating or saving more than 50 UK jobs, or related to transactions of over £100 million (GBP). Meanwhile, from 15 December all passengers arriving in England from countries not featured on the government’s 'travel corridor' list will also have the option of taking a COVID-19 test after five days of self-isolation, with a negative result releasing them from the need to isolate for the full 14-day period.

The low-cost airline will set up a new base at Cardiff Airport, basing a single A321 aircraft to provide year-round services from the UK to Spanish destinations as well as seasonal services to Greek and Egyptian airports, including Sharm El Sheikh.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has published updated entry requirements for the British Virgin Islands, which are applicable for arrivals of all nationalities, as well as residents. Effective already from 1 December, included is the requirement to gain pre-approval for entry, undergo pre-testing as well as follow-up testing, the requirement to wear a tracking bracelet and a charge of 175 USD per passenger.

The country’s government has confirmed that strict COVID-19 measures will now remain in place until at least 15 January. This includes the closure of many businesses, a night-time curfew and limits on close contact with others.

The country’s government has announced their decision on COVID-19 restrictions over the festive period, including the maximum number of people per household and the timings of a night-time curfew. In addition, movement of people between Spanish regions will be banned between 23 December and 6 January, except for visits to family; at present it’s difficult to know how the movement restriction will be monitored, however.

The country’s chancellor has confirmed that Germany will extend restrictive COVID-19 measures until at least 10 January; they were previously set to expire on 20 December. The measures include keeping hotels and restaurants closed, and limiting gatherings.

The airline has today, 3 December, published updates to its flight schedules following a reported 400% increase in bookings over the last week; insights suggest that particularly in demand are destinations such as South Africa, the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Mediterranean and even northern Finland. More insights, information and a link to their updated schedules can be found in a press release on the airline website.

The airport group has partnered with a COVID-19 testing provider to open testing facilities at the UK's Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports; a full range of PCR, LAMP, rapid antigen and antibody tests will be available at each location. As well as for departure purposes, passengers can also book tests post-arrival for day five of their mandatory self-isolation, to allow them to be released early when the government’s new test to release system comes into effect from 15 December. This news follows the recent opening of London Gatwick’s dedicated COVID-19 facility; Dublin, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Newcastle airports also offer on-site testing facilities.

The country's government has announced that it is restricting travel between its regions from 21 December to 6 January as part of strict COVID-19 curbs over the Christmas holidays; there will be travel exceptions only for work, medical reasons or emergencies. On top of the regional travel bans, people will not be allowed to leave their home towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

The airline has announced that the British Airways Galleries First and Club South lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 5 are open from today, 2 December - as are The First Wing and Concorde Terrace. Food and beverages will be available to order via a QR code system.

The country’s government has announced that from 10 December, some passengers arriving in to Iceland from will be exempt from mandatory COVID-19 quarantine and screening measures if they can provide proof that they have already contracted and recovered from the virus; this must be in the form documented results from a lab within the European Economic Area, and a clinical diagnosis is not deemed valid.

The country's government has announced that it is removing the cost of COVID-19 PCR testing upon arrival, providing it free of charge for a temporary period. From 1 December 2020 until 31 January 2021, passengers will no longer have to pay out of pocket for the PCR test upon arrival. There are no changes to entry requirements, which include entry only for countries within the European Union and a small handful of third-party nations – Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Rwanda, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

The country’s government announced yesterday, 30 November, that it will impose a weekday curfew as well as a full weekend lockdown, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. Citizens will not be permitted to leave home between 21.00 and 05.00 (local time) on weekdays, and not at all at weekends. The weekend curfew will begin from this Friday 4 December.

From today, 1 December, a new law mandating the use of facemasks went into effect within the country, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. The law states that masks must be worn in public buildings such as schools, supermarkets and restaurants for at least the next three months.

The country's government has issued a statement declaring that from today, 1 December, the arrival of some persons across all border crossing points of the Republic of Croatia, including tourists, will be temporarily prohibited; this includes some foreigners with tourist visas, who will reportedly not be able to enter. There are though exceptions to this notice, including passengers coming directly from the countries or regions of the European Union, or member states of the Schengen Area and Schengen Associated Countries which are currently in the 'green' list of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

A 24-hour strike is planned by employees of London Heathrow Airport represented by trade union Unite tomorrow, 1 December, with further action proposed again on 14, 17 and 18 December unless a dispute over pay is resolved. The strike action will involve firefighters, engineers, campus security, baggage operations, central terminal operations, landside and airside workers. While the union says has concerns about the safe operation of Heathrow during the strike, the airport says it has contingency plans in place and expects operations to run smoothly. Passengers should anticipate any delays to services by regularly checking the status of their flight, and allowing additional time to pass through security.

The country’s government is set to allow many businesses to re-open from 3 December as COVID-19 infections ease, including restaurants and non-essential retail. The Czech Republic will move down to level ‘three’ of it’s five-level risk scale, also meaning that a nighttime curfew will be lifted, but some hospitality venues must still close by 22.00 (local time) each evening.

The government of Ireland has said that from tomorrow, 1 December, many businesses will be permitted to re-open including shops, restaurants, pubs and gyms; the loosening restrictions follow a fall in COVID-19 cases credited, as the result of the country being one of the first in Europe to re-impose strict measures for a second time, around six weeks ago. Travel between counties is also expected to resume from 18 December.

The country’s government has said that it will allow shops to re-open from tomorrow, 1 December, however most other COVID-19 curbs are due to be kept in place over the festive period to limit an increase in infections. Limits on shopping will be imposed, including a requirement to shop alone for no more than 30 minutes; museums and swimming pools can re-open, however bars, restaurants, sports and cultural centres are among those which must remain closed.

The country’s government today, 29 November, eased COVID-19 restrictions in five regions including its wealthiest and most populous, Lombardy; Piedmont and Calabria have also joined it in being downgraded from ‘red’ to ‘orange’, and both Sicily and Liguria have dropped from ‘orange’ to ‘yellow’. Whereas 'red' zone residents are only allowed to leave their homes for work, health reasons or emergencies - in the 'orange' zone, people can move freely within their towns and cities, but cannot travel elsewhere.