tCI Comment
Plans for preventative quarantine measures at UK borders have provided much concern to those working in the aviation sector. Already battered by coronavirus travel-bans, airlines are concerned that new measures will further hit already tattered finances. In England and Wales, there has been particular controversy because of doubts about whether the halfway house approach being taken by the Government whereby only travellers from hotspot countries will need to quarantine will be sufficient to prevent new variants arriving from overseas. For the Scottish Government, which is looking to introduce a general quarantine requirement, the accusations of a lack of consultation could cause trouble if aviation figures decided to challenge decisions in court.
Article
The company which owns Aberdeen International Airport has slammed a lack of consultation following the announcement of fresh quarantine restrictions.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that stricter measures, which will see all those arriving in Scotland confined to hotels for a period of isolation, would be introduced to combat the spread of Covid-19.
“Managed quarantine” is designed to stop the influx of cases and new variants from overseas.
However, bosses from the aviation and travel sectors criticised the plans – and called for financial support from Holyrood.
Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS which operates Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, said: “This is the third significant announcement regarding travel restrictions in as many weeks which, once again, have been introduced without any consultation whatsoever. We’re also lacking any detail on how the latest layer of restrictions will be implemented.
“We understand the need for short-term emergency measures, and we all want to see this virus brought under control as quickly as possible, however, it’s imperative government engages with industry on developing a recovery plan.
“Our airports are effectively closed, they have been for almost one year and without a recovery plan from government there is no end in sight. We need to see sector-specific support beyond the rates relief otherwise our entire industry will remain in a perilous position.”
Mike Tibbert, vice-president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, added: “Measures which protect public health are vital and the SPAA has always supported a stance which guard our borders, particularly against newly identified strains. We understand that there must be restrictions in the short and medium-term until the vaccination programmes across the world give more confidence about travel.
“However, today’s First Minister announcement that anyone arriving directly into Scotland, regardless of which country they have come from, will have to enter managed quarantine is virtually a moot point as this directive relates to a very small prospective amount of inbound travellers who already would have to provide a negative certificate and self-isolate upon arrival regardless.
“What the SPAA has been asking for, since the early days of the pandemic, is a clear roadmap out of what is realistically a terminal situation for the Scottish travel sector. Scotland urgently needs a plan for how our country will return to travel, and targeted financial support for the whole sector.”
Outlining her plans at Holyrood yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said rules introduced by the UK Government “do not go far enough”.
She added: “As we continue to suppress the virus within our own borders and increase the protection of the vaccine, it is essential that we also guard against fresh importation of cases from overseas.
“This is particularly important as the virus mutates and new, more infectious and potentially more severe variants emerge.
“And as we look ahead, we must learn from past experience.
“We now know, for example, that by early July last year, we had almost eliminated Covid in Scotland but then allowed it to be re-seeded from, in the main, overseas travel.
“We must guard against that happening again.”
Article originally appeared on Evening Express.
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