Pandemic travel and a dose of common sense

Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

For a model of how to give advice and information so that people can “make informed judgments about travelling abroad” (Editorial, 27 July), ministers could do worse than revisit the impressive ITV This Morning interview with the husband and wife team who run the UK’s largest independent travel agency, Hays Travel. They were straightforward in answering questions, avoiding any hint of panic or complacency, and compassionate in their attitude to both customers and employees while explaining what they were doing at short notice in response to a chaotic situation. A credible understanding of risk was underpinned by good humour. Completely unexpected, it felt like an affirmation of human values to treasure as the crisis rolls on.
Geoff Reid
Bradford

• In light of recent rulings on foreign travel I suggest “adhocracy” as a label for our government (Letters, 17 July).
Hugh Darwen
Shrewley, Warwickshire

• Over the last few weeks, while my husband has been shielding, the things that have kept me going have been the Guardian’s country diary, armchair travel section, and sport; all have been superb, but the last two have really come into their own. I have therefore little sympathy for those whingeing about the “sudden” imposition of quarantine on return from Spain. If you choose to take a holiday abroad, accept the restrictions, or use your imagination and become an armchair traveller.
Teresa Heeks
Ironbridge, Shropshire

• Gibraltar is still on the Foreign Office’s list of exempted countries; Spain and its islands are excluded. Has the government forgotten that Gibraltar adjoins Spain? Does the risk level just end at the border, though commuters pass through it daily?
Valerie Davis
Guildford, Surrey

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