Europe: Travel chaos gives passengers headaches at summer’s end

A heap of new travel restrictions has thrown Europe’s long-anticipated August break into disarray, dealing a setback to airlines and leaving some passengers on the hook for the cost of last-minute changes. In the UK, quarantine measures have been reimposed on Spain, France, Malta and the Netherlands. With infection rates rising, Croatia could be next, creating another headache for would-be travelers who are running out of time as schools reopen. Ryanair has cut back on schedules, saying the uncertainty has discouraged people from booking foreign trips. Lufthansa’s Eurowings unit said Tuesday it’ll reduce capacity to Spain, in response to a German travel warning. “Airlines are stuck in an awkward place where there’s no visibility beyond two weeks, and they’re having to ramp down and ramp up and then ramp down again, at short notice,” said Mark Manduca, an analyst with Citigroup. “Every airline is adapting as best they think they can.” An industry proposal to move the UK away from country-based quarantines is gaining momentum. The government is working on ramping up Covid-19 testing at airports, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Wednesday, a measure that could be used to ease the burden on travellers to self-isolate after arriving from overseas.<br/>