Travellers undaunted by quarantine can bag flights for a third off as fares plunge

Air fares have hit heavy turbulence, with the price of tickets plummeting as soon as any new travel restrictions are announced.

Daring travellers could bag themselves a bargain on some low-cost tickets if they are undaunted by the prospect of a 14-day quarantine period when they return.

The average cost of a flight from Britain to Spain has dropped by a third since early July, falling after it was added on July 26 to the list of countries from which travellers must quarantine on arrival in the UK. Prices have remained low and levelled out in August, according to Kayak, a flight comparison website.

Tens of thousands of British tourists had their holiday plans derailed following the Government’s announcement. But it may be good news for those who are happy to book a trip and self-isolate on return.

The average fare for online searches made between July 6 and July 24 stood at £125. The price of return tickets in economy class fell to £85 for searches made between July 25 and Aug 11.

However, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office is now warning against all but essential travel to all parts of Spain. This means it will be much harder, although not impossible, to find insurance should you wish to visit in spite of the quarantine requirements.

Airlines will be forced to grapple with changing travel restrictions throughout the year as different countries re-evaluate the risks of keeping their borders open. Several travel firms, including Tui, said they would cancel all planned trips or holidays to Spain in response to the Government’s announcement.

But you can still travel to Spain and many flights are going ahead. The lowest fare from London to Alicante is £39 for a week return from Monday, according to Skyscanner, the price comparison service. Flights have remained cheaper this summer against the backdrop of the pandemic as airlines have desperately tried to coax people back into travelling.

However, there was a fall in the number of searches for flights from Britain in the same week that quarantine was introduced for travellers returning from Spain, according to Skyscanner.

Jon Thorne, from the booking website, said constantly changing rules around travel had hit consumer confidence no matter the destination, with fewer people prepared to travel at all. Instead, Britons are turning to domestic holidays.

The fast pace at which travel restrictions change has forced holidaymakers to book their trips at the last minute, just days before departure.

Figures from Skyscanner compiled for Telegraph Money showed that a third of all bookings made from Britain for economy travel were for trips departing within two to 13 days. Fear of being caught out by new quarantine rules has shortened the window between booking and travel to all destinations in July and August this year.

Mr Thorne said: “We have seen search and booking behaviour changing to reflect restrictions lifting and being introduced, and we expect that to continue to be the case.”

Searches made for short-term journeys at the height of summer are traditionally for hotspots such as Spain, including the Canary and Balearic islands, he said.

But quarantine rules have meant other destinations are picking up travellers who would normally go to Spain. Nice in southern France and the Greek islands had shot up into the top five routes for departures from London airports.

Government restrictions are clearly driving behaviour, however, and rising infection rates in France meant it was added on Thursday night to the “red list” of ­countries from which a quarantine is required on return. A handful of other countries were also removed from the FCO’s “green list”, including the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos and Aruba. Gibraltar, which was at risk of inclusion in this group, remained a quarantine-free destination despite rising cases.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK could impose quarantine on any country with more than 20 cases per 100,000 people.

Travellers who are determined to secure a trip to their favourite Spanish destination are searching for dates later in the year in the hope that restrictions may lift in the meantime. Alicante, Tenerife and Malaga, along with Dubai, are among Skyscanner’s top 10 most searched destinations for October.