Travel column with Katie Butler of Total Travel: Six years since travel stood still
There were a few little happy dances in our office last week as we successfully helped customers return home from both Sri Lanka and Thailand following disruption linked to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
As things stand, we now have only a handful of customers still overseas who are not due back to the UK just yet. Of course, we continue to keep a very close eye on their flight schedules and any potential changes that could affect their journeys home.
Travel disruption is something that we deal with from time to time, be it weather events, airline issues or wider global situations. But thinking about the challenges we sometimes face today also brings back memories of a moment when the entire travel world suddenly ground to a halt.
Can it really be six whole years since the pandemic brought international travel to a complete standstill? In March 2020 the world changed very quickly. Almost overnight, airports emptied, aircraft were grounded and holiday plans disappeared. We swapped passports for hand gel, airport lounges for our living rooms and sandy beaches for our own back gardens.
This week marks six years since the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, addressed the nation and announced the first UK lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For those working in travel it was the start of an incredibly uncertain period. Flights were cancelled, borders closed and the industry faced a situation that nobody had experienced before. For many it meant cancelled or postponed holidays and a great deal of uncertainty about when normal travel would return.
Thankfully, here in 2026 those days now feel like a distant memory for most of us. Passenger locator forms, PCR tests and lateral flow tests have long since disappeared from our pre-travel checklists. That said, the past few years have reminded us that travel is an industry that never stands still. There always seems to be something happening somewhere in the world that keeps airlines, tour operators and the likes of us on our toes.
It also highlights the importance of experience and support when things don’t quite go to plan. Travel is one of life’s great pleasures, but occasionally unexpected situations can arise and having knowledgeable people on hand to help navigate those moments can make a real difference.
On a more positive note, several members of our team have recently returned from the Jet2holidays VIP Conference which took place on the beautiful Costa de la Luz. They were fortunate enough to stay at the impressive Iberostar Selection Andalucía Playa and spent time meeting with many of our key hoteliers and suppliers. Events like this are an important part of the travel industry, giving agents the opportunity to learn about new hotels, upcoming developments and the latest “what’s new” updates across popular destinations. The knowledge gained is invaluable and helps ensure that we stay up to date.
A quick snapshot of booking trends from last week. April 2026 was our top-selling departure month with a 12 per cent share of bookings, largely driven by customers re-booking postponed trips. Close behind was May, also accounting for 12 per cent of bookings, while March departures represented 11 per cent. Late bookings made up 36 per cent of the total bookings last week.