Bristol Airport has said it sees signs of a slow return to normal for the aviation industry as Britain’s biggest tour operator prepares to launch its summer 2022 holiday schedule from the airport.
Tui is already selling getaways from Bristol for next year and into winter 2021/22 following the results of a survey last month showing UK holidaymakers are looking ahead and considering overseas breaks again.
With travel restrictions linked to the spread of Covid-19 in place and likely to get tougher following the recent upsurge in cases across Europe, many holidaymakers have stayed put this year or plumped for staycations in the UK.
But according to Tui’s survey based on a sample size of 4,000 of its customers, 86% said they expect to have gone on holiday again by next summer and 57% expect to book a Mediterranean beach break next year, while the travel firm anticipates greater demand for summer 2022 as people ‘make up’ for not being able to go away this year.
It said Greece was the ‘standout’ destination based on bookings for next summer, with Turkey and Egypt also popular – with patterns indicating these trends could continue into 2022.
Tui’s summer 2022 programme from Bristol Airport includes 36 destinations, including long-haul favourites Cancun and Florida. A large Turkey programme will also be available, with four weekly flights to Antalya and Dalaman, in addition to Bodrum flights, while there will be services to eight Greek islands.
TUI, which includes the First Choice and Marella Cruises brands, said it was also seeing an upward trend in 4 and 5-star all-inclusive hotel bookings for next summer, with more than 40% of holidaymakers expressing this as a preference. This includes hotels which offer the ‘best of both worlds’, the group said, with villas or room options with private pools and accommodation as families in particular seek to continue to feel safe in their ‘bubble’. 
TUI said it would be offering 233 different options in 155 hotels for this category in next summer and expects the trend to continue into 2022.
Among the 20 destinations for its recently launched winter 2021/2020 schedule, Tui said there was strong demand for Gran Canaria as people look ahead to some winter sun. The programme reintroduces four popular routes from Bristol including Keflavik, Iceland; Naples, Italy; Palma, Majorca; and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
There will also be more flights to Hurghada, Egypt and Gran Canaria and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Tui’s announcement is a timely boost for Bristol Airport, which is operating a much reduced international flight schedule – just one Tui flight departed yesterday.
Its largest airline easyJet has also reduced its service. Prior to the pandemic it had 17 aircraft based at Bristol and operated around 770 flights a week from the airport in the peak summer period.
Airport chief executive Dave Lees, pictured, said: “We welcome the announcement of the Tui winter 2021/2022 and summer 2022 flight programmes from Bristol Airport as it is a clear indicator of the aviation industry slowly recovering and gradually returning to normal.” 
This summer the airport, the UK’s ninth busiest, said it did not expect passenger numbers to recover for at least three years as it announced nearly 250 job losses, including 76 directly employed staff and 176 by aircraft handling firm Swissport.
Last month Mr Lees called for urgent government action to avoid further damage to the aviation and airport sector, saying the failure to bring in Covid-19 testing for passengers arriving at airports meant the already-struggling industry was being ‘suffocated’.
TUI commercial & business development director Richard Sofer said: “Our latest customer survey and booking patterns for next summer indicate that the great British public are looking forward to future holidays even more so as they may have been unable to take one this year.
“This is why we have launched our future holiday programmes through to the end of October 2022, so that families and couples alike can plan ahead to next year and beyond to make informed choices about what will make their perfect holiday from the wide range we have on offer.”
Tui, which resumed its foreign holidays in July, will launch its summer 2022 schedule next Thursday, November 5, with thousands of free kids’ places, deposits from £75 per person and no deposit on direct debit bookings made online.
