Two thirds of Britons feel unsafe on a plane

A re-cap of what's happened today, in the world of travel.

• California slams brakes on re-opening amid coronavirus surge 
• RAF jets scrambled to aid Ryanair flight as bomb note found in lavatory 
• Qantas cancels international flights from Australia until March 2021
• Two thirds of Britons feel unsafe on a plane
• Virgin Atlantic to secure $1.5 billion rescue deal 
• 90pc of UK tourism firms expect to cut jobs

Follow all the latest news, live tomorrow.

Many airlines have suspended their routes but it is possible to fly to Australia. British Airways, Qatar, Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines are running regular flights to the country from the UK, with layovers in Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. 

Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia, has today cancelled all its international flights until March 2021. Some of its planes have been grounded for three years. 

Wondering when you can travel to Australia? Check out our advice article here.

Customers of Boeing's 737 MAX jets cancelled orders for 355 planes in the first half of 2020, the planemaker has announced.

Boeing had hoped to get its once best-selling MAX planes back into the skies, after two fatal crashes in recent years led to its grounding.

However, customers have since cancelled or deferred orders due to the collapse of international air travel thanks to global Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Boeing handed over 10 aircraft in June, up from four in May and six in April.

With a spell of good weather ahead, we're taking a look at London's best spots for al fresco dining.

Ben Mccormack writes: "Never let it be said that London can’t do al fresco dining every bit as well as our continental neighbours – you just need to know where to go."

Here are our favourite restaurants for eating outside this summer. 

Our writer Emma Cooke gives an inside look at what post-lockdown travel is like in the county, from social distancing in pubs to contact-free check-ins

Read her postcard here.

In today's episode of Postcards, our brand new travel podcast, actor and activist Miriam Margolyes tells us stories about her experiences in Australia, her love for Tuscany, her time on the Real Marigold Hotel, and discusses how we need to remove our 'colonial gaze' when travelling.

You can listen to the episode above, and see her images here.

Paris Orly's long-haul budget airline, Level France, is to cease operations after seeing demand for its transatlantic services plummet after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The airline launched in 2006, formerly known as OpenSkies before being rebranded as Level France in 2018.

In a statement, Level France said:

“In light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the expectation that passenger demand will not return to 2019 levels until 2023 at the earliest, OpenSkies is formally notifying its works council about a proposed cessation of operations and the development of an employment safeguard plan."

When the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) announced that it was advising against all international cruise ship travel, it sent shockwaves through an industry worth around £10bn a year to the UK economy.

The suspension of cruising has already affected an estimated 14,000 jobs, but how long can the industry survive without cruise ships heading out to sea?

Heidi Fuller Love has arrived in a half-full hotel in Crete, where she is finding it blissfully quiet for mid-July.

"A weekend trip to Paris is always my idea of paradise - for the food, my friends, the history and the gorgeous architecture - but this particular trip  outdid the rest," writes Eilidh Hargreaves.

"It felt like walking into the light after months in confinement. Champagne in a gilded courtyard under the stars? Coffee at Simone de Beauvoir’s old haunt? Bliss. 

"For now, I would recommend sticking to the luxury addresses. Do research, plan in advance and aim to eat and drink where there are outdoor terraces. While I was disappointed by the almost complete lack of social distancing, there was generally space for me to move out of the way, thanks to the large boulevards. At no point did I feel alarmingly at risk. "

Read her report here.

"Here in South Africa, face masks are mandatory, there's a curfew – and booze and fags are banned," writes Heather Richardson, who pre-empts a tough winter ahead.

"This winter – which also now features rolling blackouts, aka load-shedding – will be a particularly tough one. But collective responsibility will result in a quicker recovery. Hopefully our borders can safely reopen by December or January, so tourists can visit over the summer. We’ll have the chenin chilled – it will never have tasted so damn good."

Read her report here.

Come to southern France, says Anthony Peregrine, for a normal holiday amongst the fearless French.

Read his feature, here.

Almost nine out of ten companies involved in the UK’s inbound tourism industry expect to make job cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new survey.

The research, conducted by trade association UKinbound, called for more government support in order to avoid “the collapse of previously successful businesses”.

The companies polled included 59 tour operators, plus firms providing services like hotel bookings, transfers and travel excursions.

Some 88 per cent of the companies anticipate making between 25 per cent and 100 per cent of their staff redundant due to the pandemic. More than half (53 per cent) expect their businesses to last no longer than six months.

Turkey is enforcing them on beaches, the Balearics and Catalonia are demanding they are worn in public (even in empty parks). Would a strict face mask policy influence your choice of travel destination? Let us know in today's poll:

Turkmenistan, which is yet to have declared any cases of Covid-19, has halted all internal passenger trains, effective July 16, amid reports of an outbreak of the virus.

A statement from the state-run railway said that the local passenger train travel would be suspended from July 16 to July 23, although there was no reason given for the stoppage. Turkmenistan's foreign ministry last month called out "fake news" following a US embassy health alert warning against potential Covid-19 cases in the country.

Turkmenistan is among a handful of countries that have not declared any cases of Covid-19. The others are:

• North Korea
• Solomon Islands
• Vanuatu
• Samoa
• Kiribati
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Tonga
• Marshall Islands
• Palau
• Tuvalu
• Nauru

Virgin Atlantic is close to securing a £1.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) rescue deal, according to a Sky News report, removing the chance of the company going into administration in the medium term.

The deal could be confirmed later today, and would involve backing from both Richard Branson's Virgin Group and hedge fund Davidson Kempner.

The Dominican Republic, whose economy is very heavily dependent on tourism, is disappointed not to be on the UK government's "travel corridor" list – that is, the countries from which there is no requirement to self-isolate on your return to the UK.

Sabrina Cambiaso, director of the Dominican Republic Tourist Board in the UK, says:

"It is frustrating not to be on the lists, but we understand the UK government's priority on the safety of British travellers. However, since our borders reopened on July 1, we have introduced incredibly thorough health and safety protocols covering every aspect of a visitor's stay, from ensuring physical distancing guidelines of two metres are maintained, no self-service in hotel restaurants, to even sanitising reins and saddles on horseback rides. We are hoping the UK advice will change soon."

Read the full report here.

With one of the lowest coronavirus rates in Europe, Iceland is reopening its borders to tourists once more. But before the crowds return to one of the world's most lauded travel destinations, the locals are seizing the opportunity to enjoy their own country for a spell.

Paul Sullivan reports:

It’s just a few hours since I was given the all-clear from a not-too-comfortable but blissfully quick Covid-test at Iceland’s Keflavik airport, and I’m neck-deep in the milky-blue, geothermally heated waters of the famous Blue Lagoon. In normal times, the lagoon pulls in around a million visitors a year, but today just a couple of hundred people are wading around with the venue’s trademark white silica smeared on their faces. And almost all the voices I hear are Icelandic.

Read the full story.

Certainly not Turkey, where many beachgoers are required to wear face coverings while sunbathing, says Oliver Smith. And with masks soon to made compulsory in English shops, a breathe-easy staycation is looking increasingly difficult this summer.

But there are some countries that haven't yet made face coverings compulsory. From the Finnish lakes to the Croatian coast, these are the places you can go for a 'normal' holiday.

As Britain's galleries and museums start to reopen for the first time since lockdown, plenty are announcing their return by putting on some truly excellent exhibitions this summer.

Here are some of the best

Abtawill roll out its new Travel Sure insurance product tomorrow, which the association hopes will be "part of the solution" for post-lockdown holidays.

Sold through Abta members and AXA, the policies provide up to £10m medical cover per person, including Covid-19 medical expenses, providing customers aren’t travelling against FCO or medical advice.

Customers will also receive up to £10,000 cancellation cover if they catch coronavirus and are forced to abandon their trip.

Read more:  What if Covid-19 spoils my holiday? Key questions answered, from cancellations to local lockdowns

Qantas Airwayshas pulled all flight sales from its website, with nearly all routes mothballed until March 28 2021.

The announcement comes just weeks after the Australian flag carrier laid off 6,000 staff – around 20 per cent of its workforce.

Some Qantas flights to New Zealand are currently on sale for September, but the company has not yet confirmed whether these would resume.

'We have never experienced anything like this before - no-one has. All airlines are in the biggest crisis our industry has ever faced,' chief executive Alan Joyce said last month.

Face masks are to become compulsory in shops and supermarkets across England, the Government is set to announce today.

From July 24, anyone caught shopping without the appropriate mouth covering could face a fine of £100.

The new rules will be enforced by the police, not shop workers who should instead "should encourage compliance", officials said. Children under 11 years old and those with "certain disabilities" will be exempt.

The policy change came shortly after official figures showed the UK coronavirus daily death toll increased by 11 to 44,830 - the lowest 24-hour rise since mid-March.

Read the full story.

A Ryanair flight from Krakow to Dublin was diverted to Stansted Airport on Monday night after a note claiming there were explosives on board was found in the lavatory.

Two Typhoon fighter jets from RAF Coningsby, Lincs, were scrambled to escort the plane to the Essex airport shortly before 6.30pm.

Essex Police confirmed all passengers were safe and had disembarked the aircraft last night, adding: "The plane remains in an isolated area at Stansted and our inquiries are ongoing."

Read the full story here.

Adrian Bridge took the ferry, to find out.

Read his report here.

From Melbourne to Manila, Hong Kong and India's tech capital Bengaluru, lockdowns and strict social distancing restrictions are being reimposed across the Asia-Pacific after a surge in cases fanned fears of a second wave of infections.

Many parts of Asia, the region first hit by the coronavirus that emerged in central China late last year, are finding cause to pause the reopening of their economies, some after winning praise for their initial responses to the coronavirus outbreak.

The number of coronavirus infections around the world hit 13 million on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, climbing by a million in just five days. Reuters' global tally, which is based on government reports, shows the disease accelerating fastest in Latin America, the number of deaths there exceeding the figure for North America for the first time on Monday.

Read more: Second Covid wave could see twice as many deaths

California on Monday ordered all indoor restaurants, bars and movie theaters to close again as coronavirus cases soared across America's most populous state.

Churches as well as businesses including gyms, shopping malls, hair salons and non-essential offices must also close indoor operations in 30 of the state's worst-hit counties, including Los Angeles, Governor Gavin Newsom announced.

"We're moving back into a modification mode of our original 'stay-at-home' order," said Newsom, whose state is by far the largest by population and richest in America.

Read the full story here.

Good morning, before we crack on – a quick look at yesterday's top stories in the world of travel.

• Greece flights still due to restart this week despite coronavirus concerns
• Center Parcs reopens without pools
• Hong Kong and Morocco tighten restrictions amid cases surge
• Call to confirm your trip or have it cancelled, Butlins warns
• Russians hit Med using Belarus loophole

Now, on with today's travel news.