Bloomberg
The UK’s latest clampdown on air travel was met with alarm by industry executives, who called the restrictions complex and said they fear a worsening struggle for survival.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock outlined details of new restrictions, including a hotel quarantine and multiple Covid-19 tests, coming into force from February 15 in an attempt to prevent dangerous new virus strains entering the country.
But key aspects of the policy’s implementation weren’t spelled out, leaving executives in the travel industry guessing.
Each traveller arriving in England from 33 nations on the government’s “red list†will be forced to pay as much as 1,750 pounds ($2,410) to isolate in a hotel for 10 days.
More testing “adds a further barrier to viable air travel and deepens the worsening 2021 outlook for our sector,†Karen Dee, CEO of the Airport Operators Association, and Tim Alderslade, who leads Airlines UK, said in a statement.