UK airline bosses want the government to replace quarantine measures by introducing German-style Covid-19 testing at airports.
The chief executives of British Airways, Tui Group, easyJet, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic wrote to transport secretary Grant Shapps saying that testing offered the best prospect for opening up transatlantic links with the US by allowing passengers from “high risk” nations to travel freely to the UK.
Travel from the US for overseas and UK travellers was otherwise untenable under 14-day quarantine when the average length of stay for US visitors was 6.47 nights, they warned.
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They pointed out that many countries, including Germany, France, China, India, UAE and Iceland, had moved quickly to introduce tests and the UK risked falling behind if it did not follow suit.
“The severe impact on UK-US air connectivity is particularly damaging to the UK with the US being its most important economic partner,” the executives said.
Germany introduced a mandatory free single PCR test on arrival process in early August for higher risk countries at all major airports.
Travellers must isolate until a result is produced within 24 hours using the state’s testing system. If negative, the traveller can avoid the 14-day quarantine.
The letter said: “We recognise there isn’t a single international approach, but we believe a UK testing protocol based on the German model would stimulate significant demand whilst protecting public health.”
BA’s Alex Cruz, Virgin Atlantic’s Shai Weiss, Tui’s Kenton Jarvis, easyJet’s Johan Lundgren, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary and Tim Alderslade, Airlines UK chief executive, said: “It would play a critical role both in supporting US-UK connectivity but also in safeguarding connections with key European and other global markets.”
The airline chiefs said testing should be introduced alongside regional air bridges that would allow quarantine-free travel to the UK from “low risk” areas within higher risk countries, such as New York.
They added: “We have suggested that officials urgently scrutinise the evidence used by the German government to decide in favour of a one test on arrival system. We urge ministers to take decisive action when policy decisions are made in the weeks ahead.”
They warned that blanket quarantine was “particularly damaging” for US-UK trade with the US accounting for 15% of all UK trade and 19 per cent of all UK exports.
Testing offered a balance that managed the risk of Covid-19 spreading while minimising inconvenience to travellers which could lead to the return of flying “at scale”.
“Restoring consumer confidence and passenger flying at scale will also require the US to open its borders to UK residents,” the airline heads said. “It is our hope that the UK taking a lead on testing will support that vital economic objective.
“The UK and US should not be left behind and miss the opportunity to set the new global norms in air travel.
“We welcome recent engagement with you and government officials on this issue and will continue to share our aviation expertise.
“Looking further ahead, the government should support industry trials to gather real world evidence to inform future policy decisions and to support practical implementation – with the ultimate objective of reaching an optimal testing regime that manages the risk of Covid importation and community transmission, whilst minimising inconvenience to travellers to provide maximum demand stimulation to enable flying at scale.
“We are ready to support you and your government colleagues in discussions with US counterparts. If UK-US flying at scale is not successfully restored as soon as possible in 2020, the UK’s economic recovery will be stuck on the runway.”
Heathrow has offered to pilot tests for the government that could allow passengers to avoid quarantine after seven or 10 days, but has said it cannot go ahead without a change in regulations to enable those who test negative to avoid the remainder of quarantine.
The appeal comes after tens of thousands of holidaymakers faced a rush to return to the UK from France when the UK reimposed quarantine measures after spikes in Covid-19 cases in the country.
More: Government’s scientific advisers say double testing could reduce quarantine period