Quarantine rules branded 'confusing' by passengers arriving at ghost-town airports in UK

The controversial 14-day quarantine for UK arrivals came under fire on day one as passengers told of “confusion” and chaos” and aviation bosses slammed the measure for telling the world “Britain is closed”.

The restriction came into force after midnight, and despite almost deserted terminals, passengers still faced queues because they had to fill in forms at the last minute.

With the economy reeling from the unprecedented crisis unleashed by Covid-19, Home Office minister Kit Malthouse sought to defend the measure but made clear it could be swiftly watered down.

As the backlash against the new rule grew:

  • Heathrow’s boss John Holland-Kaye warned thousands of jobs were at risk if the quarantine is not lifted soon, including in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s constituency in west London. “The message today is that Britain is closed,” he said.
  • Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary predicted the UK quarantine will cause “untold devastation” for the country’s tourism industry.
  • Union bosses criticised the way the measure was being introduced as “shambolic” and warned that there was “no provision to check the address” that arrivals had given for where they would self-isolate.
  • New moves to kickstart the economy will be briefed to tomorrow’s Cabinet by Boris Johnson.

Passengers arriving in the UK today spoke of the confusion over the new quarantine rules, with many being forced to queue to fill in forms to enter the country.

British couple Sarah Hartstein and Guy Potter landed at Terminal 2 at Heathrow from Los Angeles at about 8.15am and were going straight into self-isolation in Croydon.

Ms Hartstein said there had been some delays at Heathrow: “There was quite a lot of confusion and people were being held up.”

A passenger from Tel Aviv spoke of “chaos” as his plane landed.

He said: “I had no idea of the quarantine. When I arrived there were long queues.”

A lone passenger arrives at Heathrow Airport
Jeremy Selwyn

At Stansted Airport, most passengers on a flight from Eindhoven in Holland had not filled in forms required by quarantine regulations before they landed.

Uwe Bogisch, 51, a car salesman was in the UK to pick up a vehicle. He said: “I had completed the form online, almost no one else had. It’s chaos.”

Passenger Ali Gurlek, from London, said: “We didn’t know we had to fill in the form so had to do it when we arrived. There were queues. I agree with the quarantine but this is a shambles.”

Passengers at Stansted
NIGEL HOWARD ©

Netti Rexhmet, who runs an off-licence in Chigwell, said he opposed the measures.

He said: “I am getting back from Holland and this is a nightmare. It’s too much ... I can’t go back to work in my shop, it affects my living badly. There is also almighty confusion.”

Some passengers were less critical. Cerys Evans, a medical researcher from London, said: “The quarantine is important. I am going to self-isolate of course. I am going straight home to bed. A lot of people on the flight had not filled in the paperwork before they got on the flight though.”

Passengers embarking on Eurostar journeys to continental Europe also criticised the new rules as “stupid” and “pointless”.

Clare Feuillatre, 29, a sommelier, was travelling home to Nantes and will return to the UK on June 23, so will face quarantine before she goes back to work.

Heading home: Clare Feuillatre, a sommelier on furlough, was travelling back to Nantes today
Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd

“I booked my tickets before the new quarantine was announced so it means I will have to isolate for two weeks when I come back to London. It is not ideal and seems a bit stupid.”

Kelly Gillet, 28, who was returning to Paris after spending the weekend in the UK visiting her boyfriend, said she had cancelled her next trip to the UK because of the quarantine rules. “I have to work. So I can’t come back and be in quarantine for two weeks.”

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye stepped up his criticism of quarantine: “Whilst we are supportive of any measures deemed necessary to prevent a second wave, a plan must be urgent around how we will exit a blanket approach to quarantine both safely and swiftly.

“Failure to apply a more reasonable risk-based approach, enabling travel between low risk countries, will unnecessarily surrender even more jobs to this disease. Inaction could have a significant impact on Boris Johnson’s constituents, with over 11,000 Heathrow colleagues based in the borough of Hillingdon alone.”

Ryanair chief executive Mr O’Leary told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We’re seeing thousands of British families booking their holidays in Portugal, in Spain and Italy, but there’s almost a collapse of inward bookings bringing those Italians, bringing those Europeans here to the UK, on which Britain’s tourism industry depends, particularly in the peak months of July and August.

“What’s irrational about it is all of those countries have a much lower Covid rate than the UK.”

British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have sent a pre-action letter, the first step in an application for judicial review, which argues the restrictions are disproportionate.

But Home Office minister Kit Malthouse said quarantine was needed “for the moment” to cut down the risk of a second wave of infections.

“Certainly for the moment the advice is avoid all non-essential travel and that includes travel overseas, and obviously we remain in a critical moment in terms of dealing with the pandemic,” he said on Sky.

“So, ensuring we give ourselves the best chance of coming out of that without a second spike is key and that’s why from today this 14-day quarantine has been introduced.”

In a round of media interviews this morning, Mr Malthouse repeatedly used the phrase “for the moment”, implying that he and other ministers were keen to jettison or water down the policy at the first opportunity.

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