Under government proposals, airlines and passengers will not find
out until early May whether international travel resumes from May
17, a plan which fell short of industry hopes for clarity.
Airlines and travel companies are desperate for a bumper summer
after a year of restrictions. Without a high level of unrestricted
travel, some could be left struggling to survive or needing fresh
funds.
The government has proposed a traffic light system, with countries
falling into red, amber or green categories based on COVID-19 risks.
Green countries will require a PCR test which costs about 100 pounds
($135) for travellers once they arrive back in the UK.
"This does not represent a reopening of travel as promised by
ministers," said Airlines UK, an industry body which represents
British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and others.
"It is a further setback for an industry on its knees."
EasyJet, Britain's biggest airline by passenger numbers, singled out
the PCR testing requirement, the cost of which it says is higher
than some of its fares, and called on the government to re-assess
its plan.
"This risks reversing the clock and making flying only for the
wealthy," said easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren.
Britons have embraced the era of low cost travel over the last 20
years and are among Europe's highest spending tourists. In 2019,
more than six in ten Britons took a foreign holiday.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps said that the government wanted to
make testing for travel cheaper and suggested that in time, the PCR
test could be changed for a more affordable lateral flow test.
"We are committed as a government to work to drive those costs down,
and also in time of course review potentially the type of test," he
told the BBC.
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The framework for travel will
be reviewed at the end of June, July and again
in October, the government has said.
"I'm not telling people that they shouldn't book
some holidays now," Shapps said. "It's the first
time I've been able to say that for many
months."
Case numbers in Britain have dropped
dramatically since a January peak under a strict
lockdown which has banned holidays, but a
government priority is to avoid undermining the
success of its vaccination programme by
importing vaccine-resistant variants from
overseas.
Under the traffic light system, restrictions
such as hotel quarantine, home quarantine and
compulsory COVID tests will apply differently
depending on which category of country a
passenger arrives from.
There will be a "green watchlist" identifying
countries most at risk of moving from green to
amber, although the government said it would not
hesitate to change a country's category should
data show risk had increased.
A digital travel certification system would also
be part of the plan but the proposals gave few
details beyond saying that Britain wanted to
play a leading role in developing standards.
($1 = 0.7310 pounds)
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Sarah Young;
additional reporting by Michael Holden editing
by Diane Craft, Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)
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