All passengers arriving in the UK must prove that they do not have a coronavirus, showing a negative test result performed within 72 hours of the start of their journey.
Under according to the rules announced Friday, anyone who fails to produce evidence who does not have Covid-19 will be fined £ 500 ($ 678). Travelers arriving from countries not on the government’s list of open corridors will be required to isolate themselves at home for 10 days, regardless of test results.
Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
The measures, outlined by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, will take effect next week for passengers arriving in Britain by plane, boat or train. The plan aims to prevent new strains of Covid-19 from reaching the UK, such as one identified in South Africa, as the government accelerates the deployment of vaccines, Shapps said.
The UK is betting on 2 million vaccines a week and will end a new blockade
“The South African variant worries experts because the vaccine may not respond in the same way,” Shapps told LBC radio on Friday. “If so, it would be a tragedy to allow this to enter the country.”
Those who have traveled from any South African country or have traveled during the previous ten days will also be banned from entering England, the government said, including Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Ministers were criticized for taking too long to impose border restrictions during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring. This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the country in its place third national blockade as infection rates skyrocketed. The death toll from coronavirus is more than 78,000.
Hit Airlines
Governments across Europe are pushing limits on travel to and from the UK to protect themselves against a fast-spreading stump that was maintained last month. Taken together, the moves have forced the highly successful airline industry to reduce schedules in early 2021.
“British aviation is, once again, effectively closed,” Karen Dee, director general of the Airport Operators Association, said in a statement. “This has made a devastating situation worse for UK airports and communities that rely on aviation.”
Airlines industry lobby UK he called for pre-departure testing to be a short-term measure and for travel to return to normal as soon as possible once vaccine deployment is accelerated.
Ministers should now focus on creating a common international standard, said Heathrow Airport chief John Holland-Kaye, who has called for the use of evidence to increase passenger numbers. The call was echoed by the London-based World Travel & Tourism Council, which said there is still uncertainty about the type of tests that will be accepted. It demanded wide access and affordability.
Ryanair Holdings Plc, EasyJet Plc i British Airways is one of the airlines that reduced its schedules this week, and Ryanair said it will offer few flights from January 21 until the sidewalks are lifted.
Ryanair Slashes Schedule, citing the latest Covid blockade in the UK
Airlines are trying ultra-cheap fares to fly the world again
Complex talks
Government officials have spent several days in talks on how to coordinate border policy between the four nations of the UK, which have control over their own transport policies. In a separate statement, the Scottish government said it agreed with the plan and that the measures would be imposed as soon as possible.
Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford told the BBC on Friday that he strongly supports the new rules and expects them to apply across the UK
Passengers will be required to show their negative test results before boarding and will be stopped if necessary. There will be some exceptions to the new rules, including those for carriers, under-11s and travelers leaving countries without an adequate testing infrastructure.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out his plan for a mass vaccination program to protect about 15 million elderly and vulnerable people across the UK and their carers, by 15 February, self-imposed. After that, the government will examine whether to start lifting part of the blocking rules.
– With the assistance of Alastair Reed, Rodney Jefferson, Emily Ashton, Siddharth Vikram Philip and Christopher Jasper
(Updates to the airport operators’ statement in the sixth paragraph)