Excitement at Stansted Airport as flights get off the ground to Portugal as rules relax

• Watch passengers talking ahead of getting on a plane to Portugal

Four flights left for Portugal today from London Stansted, which is the only green list destination the airport is currently flying to.

It was a slightly busier day than it has been during the pandemic, but still only 4,000 passengers are going through the terminal in a day. That's compared to the 100,000 that would go through on a peak pre-pandemic day. 

But after months of not being able to travel or visit family and friends overseas, the excitement at the airport was high among passengers.

Passengers who ITV Anglia spoke to did not express safety concerns and were more delighted to be heading away.

Jonathan Fowler, the Customer Service & Security Director from Stansted Airport, said that the uncertainty has been very difficult for everyone to deal with but the hope was today was the start of getting back to normal traveling.

However, with cases of the Indian variant rising in the UK, warnings from the government for people to exercise the new freedoms with caution have been backed by some travel experts.

Mo Talukder, a travel expert from Geotourist said it was very important for all passengers to be very cautious, no matter where they're traveling.