'DON'T book summer holidays yet': European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warns against making travel plans to the continent

  • France urges fellow EU countries to keep non-Schengen travel restrictions
  • European Commission President also warns people not to make holiday plans
  • It comes after the UK government warned against all non-essential global travel
Jet-setters hoping for a European getaway this summer have been warned by EU chiefs not to start making holiday plans amidst the coronavirus crisis.
Countries in the European Union are being warned to keep their borders closed until September by key player, France.
It comes as France told EU leaders this weekend that it would maintain strict border controls until October 30.
Meanwhile, French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called for external borders with the passport-free Schengen zone, of which Britain is not a part, to remain closed until September.So far there have been more than 130,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France and more than 14,000 deaths. There has 84,279 cases in the UK and 10,612 deaths.
Such a move could could cause major disruption for Britons hoping to travel to Europe for their summer holidays.  
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, has since warned people not to make summer holiday plans.
Ursula von der Leyen (pictured), the European Commission President, has advised people to wait before making their holiday plans
French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called for external borders with the passport-free Schengen zone, of which Britain is not a part, to remain closed until September
Ursula von der Leyen (pictured left), the European Commission President, has advised people to wait before making their holiday plans, while French president, Emmanuel Macron (pictured right), has called for external borders with the passport-free Schengen zone to remain closed until September.
Speaking to German newspaper, Bild, she said: 'I'd advise everyone to wait before making holiday plans.
'At the moment, no one can make reliable forecasts for July and August.
'We will need to learn to live with this virus for many months, probably until next year.' 
Travellers hoping for some summer sun in the next few months are already facing uncertainty.Last month, budget airline easyJet grounded all of its flights indefinitely, while British Airways stopped its flights from Gatwick Airport on April 1.
BA later furloughed 36,000 of its employees on a modified version of the government's job retention scheme.
Luton-based carrier easyJet confirmed it will get a £600million loan from the government's coronavirus fund, and is borrowing an additional £400million from creditors.
The decision sparked a row with founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou who had previously urged directors to scrap a £4.5billion order with Airbus for more than 100 new planes. 
Luton-based carrier easyJet grounded all of its flights indefinitely last month and has since taken a £600million loan from the government's coronavirus fund.
Luton-based carrier easyJet grounded all of its flights indefinitely last month and has since taken a £600million loan from the government's coronavirus fund.
Meanwhile, Jet2 has cancelled all flights and holidays until mid-June because restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic show no sign of easing.
The travel firm, which is Britain's second-biggest holiday company and owned by Dart Group, said in a statement that its holidays and flights would not now restart until June 17.
Since April 4, Britons have been warned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) against all non-essential global travel abroad 'indefinitely'. 

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