Airlines demand quarantine exemption from European hub airports

Airlines flying to the UK are demanding that key overseas hubs be granted exemption from British quarantine measures. At present anyone arriving in the UK via a hub airport that is in a “quarantine country” must self-isolate for two weeks. Spending a couple of hours in a key transit location such as Paris CDG, Frankfurt or Amsterdam airport makes the traveller liable to UK quarantine. The effect is to render much of the government’s so-called “travel corridors” list meaningless – because so many destinations cannot be reached by a non-quarantine airport. For example, British holidaymakers in the Dutch and French Caribbean must travel home through Amsterdam and Paris respectively. Just two countries in Africa – Namibia and Rwanda – are on the travel corridors list, but quarantine-free travel is impossible from either of them. Passengers from Namibia must change planes in another African country, while the Rwandair flight from Kigali to London Heathrow touches down in Brussels. While no new travellers join the plane, a pilot is required to leave the aircraft in the Belgian capital to conduct a “walk around” check – meaning every passenger on board must quarantine. Dozens of Pacific and Atlantic islands, as well as Uruguay, are similarly subject to what the IATA calls an effective travel ban.<br/>