Britons make last-minute dash to leave the country before lockdown

A re-cap of today's main stories.

• Canary Islands to introduce tests on November 14
• Nearly 50,000 new infections in India in 24 hours 
• Cases are on the rise in Greece
• England to enter lockdown at 00.01 on Thursday
• Venice off the cruise map for post-lockdown itineraries  
• Italy to be divided into risk areas as country prepares for nightly curfew
• US airlines warn of post-election unrest    

Join us tomorrow, for more in the world of travel.

The Sunshine State transforms into the Swing State every four years, writes Nick Dauk.

Though the governor’s seat has been decidedly red since 1999, Florida is not as Republican as it seems. When voters enter the booths, the winning presidential candidate only claims the state by a small margin — as low as one percentage point, at times. 

Donald Trump snagged a Florida victory with a 1.2 percentage point increase. Barack Obama won the state in both 2008 and 2012 by narrow margins. Who wouldn’t assume that 2020’s final counts, a year already infectious with uncertainty, would reflect another anxiety-inducing close contest in Florida?

More importantly, how would the people of Florida react to the results? 

Read Nick Dauk's postcard from Florida, here.

Boris Johnson won a Commons vote on his lockdown plans this afternoon, but was forced to endure a bruising backbench rebellion.

England will now enter lockdown at midnight tonight, after the measures were voted through by 516 votes to 38.

Theresa May led the backbench revolt against the Government’s coronavirus strategy, after the Prime Minister walked out on his predecessor.

As the MP for Maidenhead got to her feet during a heated debate on the second lockdown, her one-time foreign secretary walked out of the Commons - to the disbelief of their colleagues. 

Follow all the updates on our Politics Live Blog.

Essential retailers and streaming services stand to gain once again, but travel and leisure firms are staring at a bleak winter.

These are the lockdown 2.0 winners and losers.

Several weeks ago the mood among English hoteliers was optimistic, if not exactly ebullient. The hardships of the first lockdown had been largely mitigated by a strong summer trade bolstered by domestic holidaymakers disinclined to even attempt to navigate the travel corridor system.

But that fragile sense of confidence has evaporated in the onset of Lockdown 2.0, only to be replaced by disbelief and anger. And it is especially palpable among operators of England’s golf resorts.

This group has been hit twice by Government restrictions, with both overnight stays banned and sports facilities ordered to close. Unable to accept either paying guests or pay-for-the-day golfers, two vital revenue streams have been cut off in one fell swoop.

They’re hardly alone. Hotels which rely on fine dining or spa days for income are in the same predicament, and must now rely on loans and furlough support in the hope that these will be enough to seem them through.

But for golf resort operators, the crux of the matter lies in the unexplained decision to shut down the fairways.

Tom Mulvihill has the report.

Manchester has become the fastest-growing tech city in Europe, leapfrogging research hub Cambridge for venture capital backing, a new study has shown.

Figures compiled by Tech Nation and job search engine Adzuna found that $687.6m (£527m) of venture capital funding was poured into tech firms in Manchester last year. This was compared to $199.1m in 2018, and meant the city was second to only London in terms of investment.

However, Manchester was growing much faster than the UK capital, which has seen consistently high VC investment figures.

Digital Minister Caroline Dinenage said Manchester's "tech star has been rising for the past few years". She pointed to the recent IPO of Manchester-based online beauty titan The Hut Group as something which had "cemented the city’s reputation as an industry hub to rival the capital".

Read the full story here.

Tour operator Flash Pack has been placed in administration, but hopes to relaunch “when or if the pandemic allows”, TravelWeekly reports.

The Lond-based adventure and solos specialist sells trips targeted at people in their 30s and 40s. Its failure was confirmed by the Civil Aviation Authority, which said Flash Back ceased trading on November 3.

Founders Radha Vyas and Lee Thompson won't give up, however. They have said they would re-mortgage their house with the view to relaunching Flash Pack in 2021 after a period of what they describe as “hibernation”.

What happens when you flush the loo on a cruise ship?

If you’re one of the 30 million people a year who embark on a cruise ship, then you’ll certainly have had to answer the call of nature on board. Curious cruisers are often intrigued about what happens after they press the flush button and the highly efficient vacuum system empties the loo in a zippy whoosh. 

Here, we explain what happens next.

Russia's daily tally of new coronavirus cases surged to a record high of 19,768 on Wednesday, including 5,826 in Moscow.

It takes the national tally to 1,693,454 since the pandemic began.

Authorities also reported 389 deaths in the past 24 hours, a record high that pushed the official death toll to 29,217. 

"Though I’ve no confidence my planned BA flight back will now take off – I’m in the Maldives on business but the route is completely dependent on tourists – I’ve decided to think of the upheaval as  an opportunity," writes John O'Ceallaigh.

"I’m working for a fortnight at Vakkaru Maldives resort, and my commute this morning required I walk the island’s vanilla-white beach; my lunch meeting was held in shorts and t-shirt, and over a platter of fresh-as-can-be sashimi; and I’m typing this from my overwater villa’s Ocean Office.

"Looking past my hammock right now, I can see a trio of kayakers shimmy towards a nearby snorkelling site set against a sandbank. There are infinitely worse places to be, and from friends in London it seems one of them would be my home in Hackney. WhatsApp missives I receive are invariably bleak and the thought of missing the bulk of lockdown (not to mention incessant US election and Brexit coverage) sounds very good to me."

Read John's postcard from the Maldives, here.

Passengers booked on Spirit of Adventure, Saga Cruises’ newest ship which docked at the Essex port of Tilbury last month, will have to wait even longer to set sail.

The vessel had been due to make her inaugural voyage from Southampton on November 5 but that was put back first to February 5, 2021, with a cruise to the Canary Islands.

Now, as England’s second lockdown looms, the British brand has postponed Spirit of Adventure’s inaugural cruise until May 4, 2021.

Saga Cruises boss Nigel Blanks said in a statement: “I recently wrote to you regarding our decision to extend our cruise suspension against the backdrop of the Covid-19 second wave and the fact that most countries around the world are not accepting cruise ships.

“Since then, we have sadly seen the predicted restrictions on day-to-day life increasing. This has led us to further review our planned dates for a return to service, as the seasonal impact of Covid-19 would indicate that we are unlikely to be able to cruise in February on Spirit of Adventure, or March on Spirit of Discovery."

Read the full report, here.

A quick look at how Covid-19 cases are looking on the Continent.

Both Greece and Germany are now firmly in the 'red zone' for a potential quarantine in this Thursday's review, with more than 100 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day count.

... there's an election going on, in case you hadn't noticed.

Follow our US Election Live Blog for all the latest updates in the neck-and-neck contest.

Is there actually an outright ban on leaving the UK during lockdown?

In short, no. In the Government's legislation, there is no mention anywhere of a specific travel ban – though there is, of course, a requirement to remain at home except for certain reasons (and “going on holiday” is not one of them). But heading abroad is not, in itself, an offence.

It throws up all sorts of curious scenarios and loopholes, none of which – obviously – are endorsed by Telegraph Travel. But here's some food for thought...

• Moving house? You are allowed to leave home to view a residential property. Presumably, this could be one overseas? 
• You can leave home to shop, of course, and there is no rule on how far you can go. Does Barcelona’s Mercado de La Boqueria seem reasonable?
• You can leave home for the purpose of “education of training”. How about training to be a sommelier in Chianti?

Oliver Smith has the story.

Travellers have taken to Twitter today to complain of queues and delays at Heathrow. Indeed, the airport itself has warned on social media that queues are 'longer than usual':

Terminal 2 is a "dangerous crush", says one would-be traveller: 

There are some lengthy queues at check-in:

 The airport is "like an evacuation centre":

Terminal 2 Arrivals is jam-packed, too:

For those who can, now is truly the time to witness the natural beauty of the Galapagos archipelago in all its tranquil glory, writes Jamie Lafferty. 

The wildlife is as abundant, colourful and curious as ever, it is just that now you have to observe while wearing masks. In the case of the reeking sea lions, this proved a mercy.

While the 30 or so passengers on board were thrilled to see this bombastic menagerie, when we stopped on the eastern island of San Cristobal, we were the remarkable beasts.

Deputy expedition leader Ramiro Tomala Bravo explained that La Pinta had been the first ship to revisit the island just a few weeks earlier and that the locals hadn’t seen outsiders in four months. Many gathered at the dock to wave. Some wept. “It was really emotional, you know?” the Santa Cruz native told me in a tone that made me wonder if he was welling up behind his dark sunglasses.

Here's the full story.

Despite Europe's new lockdowns slashing the hopes of a Christmas ski holiday, some resorts and operators in France have spoken out in support of the national restrictions.

Last week, ski resorts in France were given two days’ notice that they must close, or were to remain closed, until December 1 at least. But as the French approach their second week of confinement, many in the ski industry are hopeful that the lockdown is in fact the lifeline the ski season needed in order to be able to start safely.

“Europe’s lockdown could be a perfectly-timed reset for an even safer ski season,” said Ceri Tinley, founder and managing director of Consensio Chalets.

“In French resorts there’s a very similar atmosphere to that in the UK, it [lockdown] is not welcomed but recognised as a necessary restriction in order to bring the case numbers down and [we] are hoping it will then save the winter season.”

Lucy Aspden has the latest.

Our reporter, Simon Parker, has been cycling the length of Great Britain to take a health-check on the spirit of the nation.

However, since the announcement that England would be entering a national lockdown from 00.01 tomorrow (Thursday), Simon has entered a race against the clock to complete his journey on time.

Follow his nail-biting final stretch, on Twitter, and read about his adventure, here.

Two of America’s major airlines are bracing for post-election violence, urging extra vigilance and relocating staff to hotels outside major metropolitan areas. 

In an internal memo, United Airlines announced it was taking “precautionary measures” to protect personnel from potential unrest, by moving flight crew into quieter airport hotels away from city centres. 

It identified potential risks in Seattle, Washington, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Portland, where political tensions are currently high. The airline has also reportedly moved its ‘Network Operations Center’ from Willis Tower in downtown Chicago to a temporary backup facility outside the city in a bid to minimise disruption.

“There is a possibility of renewed protest activity,” the memo explained. “We are taking precautionary measures to ensure your safety and suitable rest are met.” 

Hazel Plush has the report.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has signed an emergency decree that will divide Italy into three risk areas and impose a 10pm curfew to curb rising Covid-19 deaths, hospitalisations and infections.  

News that the PM had finally signed the controversial "lockdown light" decree came after midnight early on Wednesday, just as US election results were dominating the news cycle.

The full text of the decree, which he told parliament this week was necessary to control contagion but not so severe as to paralyse the country, is set to be officially published on Wednesday morning, and go into effect on Thursday through to December 3.

According to the draft of the decree published by Italian news agencies, a nationwide curfew will prohibit movement between the hours of 10pm and 5am and shopping centres and mega stores are to be closed on weekends. Museums, exhibitions and betting and bingo halls will also be closed.

Read the full report, here.

Italy was one of the first countries to end its coronavirus cruise ship ban, lifting restrictions on August 15 and seeing MSC Cruises resume sailings out of Genoa a day later, onboard the operator’s flagship MSC Grandiosa, writes Kaye Holland.

Costa Cruises returned to the water on September 6 with Costa Deliziosa sailing out of Trieste while a second MSC ship, the slightly smaller MSC Magnifica, re-commenced cruises out of Genoa on October 19.

Despite departing from Trieste, a 90-minute train ride from Venice, and Genoa on the north-west coast, and calling at the Italian ports of Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La Spezia, neither MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises have put Venice on their post-lockdown itineraries.

La Serenissima, as Venice is lovingly known, has long been a highlight of any Italian cruise – in 2019, cruise ships brought 1.61 million passengers to the uniquely watery city’s cobblestone pavements – but after months of shutdown due to the impact of Covid-19, two major cruise companies have effectively turned their back on Venice now that they have been given the green light to raise anchor. 

Read the report here.

We know now, much like during the first lockdown earlier this year, that leisure travel – both domestic and international – is off the cards from 00.01 on Thursday; until at least December 2, and very possibly longer. The Government has yet to publish its detailed guidance, but Johnson’s message is clear: citizens must ‘stay at home’ unless for essential reasons.  

There are two caveats to the travel ban this time around, however. The first is that people who are already on holiday now or who are planning to depart before the November 5 cut-off, are not being requested to cut their trips short and return immediately.  

The second is that people may still travel abroad for essential work purposes. Exactly what constitutes ‘essential’ has yet to be announced, and neither is it clear how this will be monitored or policed, nor what penalties may be imposed upon rule-breakers. But here’s what we know so far.  

Here's everything you need to know about what the new lockdown means for travel.

"My heart breaks for the thousands of people involved in travel and tourism, whether it be selling holidays, manning airports, flying planes or running hotels, whose lives and businesses are being trashed on the basis of out-of-date finger-in-the air modelling from the terrible twosome, who have scared the PM witless (there’s your hint) with forecasts of 4,000 deaths a day by December 20," writes Jane Archer.

"According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, 174 million jobs and $4.7 trillion worldwide could be lost this year unless travel opens up."

Read Jane Archer's comment piece on the reasons the UK Government should scrap the travel ban.

News last week that the iconic travel bookstore – founded in 1853 – was in trouble, followed by the announcement on Monday that it has launched a crowdfunding appeal, comes as no surprise, writes Chris Moss.

Retail and the entire travel industry have been punished first by the Covid crisis, which has seen airports shut and borders closed, and then by the UK government’s ham-fisted mismanagement of the pandemic.

At the same time, digital living in all its forms has become the unhappy norm and Amazon, which established itself in this country as a bookseller long before it became a life-emporium, has become the fall-back source for reading matter and audiobooks.

Read Chris Moss's comment on why losing Stanfords would be a national tragedy.

Greece is one of the few countries that British holidaymakers can visit without needing to take a Covid-19 test before entry, or go into quarantine on their return to the UK.

Here's a look at how cases are looking in Greece.

England:  No. As of November 5, you shouldn't leave your house let alone your area except for essential purposes. Boris Johnson announced on Saturday, October 31: "You must stay at home, you must only leave home for education, work if you cannot work from home, recreational exercise with one person from another household or your household, and to escape injury or harm, to shop for food and essentials or provide care for vulnerable people as a volunteer."

The guidelines state: "Overnight stays and holidays away from primary residences will not be allowed, including holidays in the UK and abroad. This includes staying in a second home, if you own one, or staying with anyone you do not live with or are in a support bubble with."

Pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail must also close. Hotels, hostels and other accommodation should only open for those who have to travel for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions. Restaurants, bars, spas, pools and gym facilities will also be closed at hotels. 

This lockdown will last at least until December 2.

Wales: All travel to and from Wales is banned until November 9.

Scotland: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon asked people not to book overseas holidays during the October half-term break, and ordered Scots not to travel to England.

A new five-level system of restrictions for tackling coronavirus will come into force in Scotland on Monday, which will see travel restrictions imposed on many Scots. In Level 3 areas – the second highest tier in the new Scottish system and which affects the central belt including Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as Ayrshire and Dundee – people are urged not to go outside of their own local authority area.

Here's everything you need to know about how the new lockdown will affect your travel plans.

The Prime Minister is being urged to provide sector support for the travel industry, as England moves into another nationwide lockdown.

Manuel Cortes, The General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) said:

“Doubtless you will be aware that this normally vibrant sector of the economy has taken a massive hit in recent months, with close to 100,000 jobs lost.

“Deep fears remain across the industry over further redundancies in coming weeks, not least as lockdown advice for November states that ‘holidays abroad and in the UK…will not be allowed’ – essentially a complete shutdown of the travel sector.  

“The truth of the matter is your government to date has ignored the clarion calls for help from our travel trade; the buck has been passed from Business Department to the Department for Transport and back again. Meanwhile no effective action has been forthcoming.  

“Now, as lockdown approaches, many businesses across our travel trade need substantive, long-term, sector specific economic support.  

“There would also be a real benefit in creating a post of travel minister, so that travel no longer falls between the cracks but has the dedicated champion our industry needs on a daily basis.  

“I urge you to consider these measures without delay, hundreds of thousands of livelihoods depend on it.”

India  has recorded 46,253 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours, with cases rising again in some parts including the capital New Delhi.

With 8.3 million confirmed cases, India is the world's second-most affected country, behind only the United States.

But the spread has slowed since a September peak, and the country has reported less than 50,000 infections daily for 10 straight days.

Still, infections are rising in some parts of the country, even as active cases decline nationwide.

The government has warned that cases could surge during the ongoing festival season, asking people to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

GP practices will be told this week to prepare to administer coronavirus vaccines before Christmas, the NHS's Chief Executive has said.

Sir Simon Stevens told the BBC that of the 200 vaccines in development we "should hopefully get one or more of those available from the first part of next year".

"But in anticipation of that we are also gearing the NHS up to be making a start on administering Covid vaccines before Christmas if they become available," he said. 

"In fact, we have reached agreement with the GPs to ensure that they will be doing that. We will be writing to GP practices this week to get them geared up to start before Christmas if the vaccine becomes available."

From Saturday November 14, travellers to the Canary Islands will need to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test.

Yesterday, the FCDO updated its advice on Spain to reflect the change. It says:

 "From November 14 until further notice, if you’re travelling to the Canary Islands and are booked into regulated tourist accommodation, you will be obliged to:

• produce an official, negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours earlier, when checking in to your accommodation.
• download and activate the Radar COVID notification app throughout your stay on the islands, and for 15 days after your return home.

The requirement to self-isolate on return to the UK from the Canary Islands was lifted on October 25. However, you must still self-isolate if returning to the UK from any other part of Spain.

Here are the best bets for a last-minute holiday to the Canaries.

English pubs will call last orders at the bar for a month on Wednesday evening, as the country effectively shuts down for the second time this year to try to cut coronavirus cases.

Pub owners and industry organisations are angry and concerned at the move, warning that after struggling with the first lockdown, it could cause many pubs to call "time" for good.

• One in four pubs may never reopen after lockdown is lifted

"Make no mistake, this could be the final straw for thousands of pubs and brewers," said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association.

The organisation, which represents about 20,000 venues across Britain and whose members brew 90 per cent of the country's beer, said it would have a knock-on effect.

"It will also create major disruption to our supply chain partners whose businesses are now also at severe risk," she said.

Thousands of British holidaymakers are fleeing the country ahead of tomorrow's month-long nationwide lockdown. Some are reporting long queues at Heathrow.

And this is also your last chance to use British Airways' Club or First lounges in Heathrow Terminal 5 – they will close as of tomorrow.

A quick recap of the top stories:

• Ryanair refuses to refund November flights
• Tui has cancelled all flights from England and Wales
• Italy imposes nationwide curfew
• ABTA calls for Government support for travel industry
• Portugal considers state of emergency
• 'First Covid testing lab at sea' installed
• National Trust outdoor sites to stay open during lockdown