The transport secretary has said airport testing is not a “silver bullet solution” to quarantine – and the prime minister suggested it could offer “a false sense of security”.
Comments from Grant Shapps and Boris Johnson come as a blow to the travel industry’s campaigning efforts on the issue, which many champion as a means to reduce self-isolation and open up more destinations.
Speaking to the BBC, Johnson suggested testing on arrival would only identify 7% of virus cases.
He said: “The quarantine system that we have has got to be an important part of our repertoire, of our toolbox, in fighting Covid.”
The prime minister that, said while he understood “the difficulties” the airline industry was facing, “93% of the time you could have a real false sense of security, a false sense of confidence when you arrive and take a test”.
In a separate inteview, transport secretary Shapps defended the government’s decision not to introduce testing at airports, amid warnings from the airline industry that quarantines are killing the travel industry.
He warned airport testing was not a “silver bullet solution” to removing quarantine and was “unlikely to find the vast majority of people who have travelled with coronavirus and are asymptomatic”.
“I hear the calls from the airports and I spoke last night to John Holland-Kaye who’s the boss of Heathrow airport and many others, it’s not that we’re ignoring the great work they’re doing on trialling tests,” said Shapps.
“But I’ve spoken to my opposite number, for example my French opposite number. They did put testing in but of course realised it isn’t actually the silver bullet solution to this. What you’ve got to be able to do is test further down the line with a period of quarantine as well.”
Pilots union Balpa has written to Shapps calling for the DfT to use airport testing.
General secretary Brian Strutton said: “I want to urge you in the strongest possible terms urgently to approve airport Covid testing as an alternative to punitive quarantine measures which are killing aviation, travel and international trade. On this I believe the whole industry is united.
“The crisis facing the travel and aviation industry is acute. Thousands of jobs are being lost, livelihoods are being destroyed and companies are on the edge of survival. The government must do everything it can to support such a vital sector.”
Strutton said allowing testing as an alternative to the current 14-day quarantine periods for incoming passengers from higher-risk areas would be a “sensible and effective measure” that would “change perceptions” and offer “welcome clarity”.
He noted how more than 30 other countries have adopted a system of airport testing, which he said “crucially boosts passenger confidence in travelling”.
“We do not blame the government for Covid, but the government’s reaction to its effect on the travel industry has been lamentable,” he added. “Even at this stage, you can help by changing course on airport testing – tens of thousands of aviation workers are relying on you to do so.”