Travelers to London Heathrow Airport on 20 December.
Photographer: Sid Philips / Bloomberg
Photographer: Sid Philips / Bloomberg
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The UK plunged into Christmas chaos, with police deployed to stop people boarding packed trains, abandoned holidays abroad and Europe banning travel with the country after London went into an emergency closure. .
In a sudden change, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson canceled plans to allow families to be seen during the holiday season as the government warned that a new strain of coronavirus “is out of control “. There were scenes of panic at the train stations, with people defying the rules of social distancing to get out of the capital before the new rules came into force on Sunday.
More than 16 million Britons are forced to stay at home after new restrictions come into force in London and the south-east of England on Sunday. The measures ban the mixing of households in the capital and the south-east and restrict socialization on Christmas Day only in the rest of England.
France and Germany plan to join Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium in banning air and rail connections with the UK, which is in the midst of delicate and critical negotiations on Brexit with its European Union partners. The conversations were expected to reach advance as soon as this weekend.
For many Britons, whether trying to see relatives or trying to go on a winter holiday, the situation is reminiscent of the latest closure across the country and will raise fears that even with a vaccine the virus is dangerous, if not so deadly. It is also the latest change of origin for a government that has been reluctant to impose limits on the movement unless it is forced. Until Friday, Johnson was blunt that nearby families could mingle over Christmas.
Crowded airports
While Heathrow Airport in London was crowded on Sunday morning when dozens of planes took off, a KLM service at 11:45 in Amsterdam was left empty, according to a spokeswoman for the center, while two subsequent British Airways flights to the Dutch city were canceled. It was shown that most other operations were planned.
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The bans are very worrying, the spokeswoman said. Heathrow has just had one of the busiest weeks since the first closure in the UK, as people took flight flights Until Christmas, and there are still a large number of trips, he added.
A spokesman for Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam said the planes arriving on Sunday from London were essentially empty. Deutsche Lufthansa AG has canceled crew layoffs in the UK and is considering other actions, a spokesman said.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said more British transport police would be sent to prevent people from making unnecessary trips outside London.
“Please don’t come to a station unless you are allowed to travel,” Shapps said in a statement. “Additional British transport police officers are being deployed to ensure that only those in need of essential travel can travel safely,” he said after posting on social media videos of people fleeing the capital.
London Metropolitan Police are also stepping up patrols, prioritizing parts of the capital with high attendances, as well as areas where the virus is spreading rapidly, he said in a statement. statement. “At this critical time for the city, officials across London will pay special attention to those groups who have intentionally ignored the rules, putting communities and lives at risk,” he said.
A Met Police spokesman said officers were deployed at all airports “as part of routine security and policing”.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge early this morning that it is more important than ever for people to be responsible and not just adhere to the rules, but restrict all social contact as much as possible, because “this is deadly serious.”
– With the assistance of Kitty Donaldson, Layan Odeh, Anthony Palazzo and Siddharth Vikram Philip