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On Monday, the governments of Russia, Norway, Denmark, Spain and India announced that they would temporarily stop allowing flights to land from Britain. Previously, other European countries had already cut their air connections with Great Britain. Britain’s planes can no longer land in Austria after midnight.
There are currently no further Austrian landing bans or border closures with countries where the new variant has also been detected, as Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (VP) said on Monday. The landing ban against Great Britain was imposed “as a precautionary measure” until the mutation has been scientifically investigated in detail. The good news, however, is that so far there has been no evidence “that the mutation has spoiled our vaccination plans,” Schallenberg told a press meeting with Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (VP) at the airport. .
The timing of the landing ban, which will initially apply until January 1, 2021, was chosen “in accordance with European consonance,” taking into account people’s ability to plan, Nehammer said. Those arriving from Britain who arrive on Monday before the midnight landing ban takes effect will also be closely monitored, Schallenberg stressed. Since December 19, all travelers from Great Britain have been in quarantine for at least five days after entering the country.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday on international flight bans. A government spokesman said in London on Monday that the meeting will address the “situation with regard to international traffic”, in particular freight traffic.
Previously, many countries had banned UK planes. Israel decided on Monday to ban foreigners from all countries from entering the country due to the new variant of the virus. Israelis must be quarantined in Corona hotels from Wednesday at 2pm local time (1pm CET) after their entry. It should stay there for at least ten days if two corona tests are negative. Without testing, they even have to stay there for 14 days.
A decree of the Russian government said that from midnight all air connections with Great Britain would be suspended “due to the worsening epidemiological situation.” The regulation applies initially for one week.
The governments of Denmark and Norway have also announced landing bans for flights from Great Britain. In both countries, the measure will initially only apply for 48 hours. The move allows the government “to sound out more steps to take,” Danish Transport Minister Benny Engelbrecht said. Denmark is one of the countries where the new crown variant has already been detected.
Norwegian Health Minister Bent Hoie justified the flight ban by saying that it was necessary to ensure “that the variant of the virus detected in Great Britain spreads as little as possible in Norway.” Travelers from Great Britain will still have to quarantine themselves for ten days in Norway like all other newcomers. Also, they must be tested before January 10.
As one of the last countries in the EU, Spain also imposed an entry ban on visitors from Great Britain. The measure will take effect on Tuesday, the government announced in Madrid on Monday. Spanish citizens and foreigners who have their primary residence in Spain are exempt from the ban, he said. According to the national airport management authority AENA, a total of 201 connections to and from Great Britain were scheduled on Monday. None of these flights have been canceled so far, it was said upon request.
The Indian government said on Monday that “all flights from Britain to India” would be suspended until the end of the year. The Civil Aviation Department called the regulation a “precautionary measure”, adding that UK transit passengers would have to undergo mandatory corona tests upon arrival.
Several countries in the Arab world also restricted international air traffic. Saudi Arabia suspends all international passenger flights for a week. The Saudi state news agency SPA reported late Sunday that entry by land and sea will also be temporarily halted. Tunisia has suspended all air connections with Great Britain, South Africa and Australia until further notice. Foreigners who have stayed in one of the three countries cannot enter, the Tunisian Ministry of Transport announced on Monday. Kuwait suspends all commercial flights from Kuwait City International Airport until January 1, as announced by the aviation authority. Starting Tuesday, Oman will close all air, land and sea connections with foreign countries for a week, the state Gulf State news agency reported.
Finland had already imposed a two-week landing ban on airliners from Great Britain on Sunday. The measure went into effect Monday afternoon.
Turkey also stopped all flights from the UK. Furthermore, air traffic with South Africa and the Netherlands has been suspended for the time being due to the emergence of more contagious virus variants, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted on Sunday night. Numerous other states had previously closed flight connections to Great Britain.
British Prime Minister Johnson announced over the weekend that the mutation that occurred in south-east England was “up to 70 percent more contagious” than the original variant of the corona virus. However, the chief virologist of the Berlin Charit, Christian Drosten, pointed out on Monday in Deutschlandfunk that this information was only an estimate. It is not yet clear whether the new variant is actually more transferable. UK Health Secretary Mark Hancock said the new mutation was “out of control” on Sky News.
The virus variant has already been detected in other countries, including South Africa, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The chief virologist of the Berlin Charit, Christian Drosten, told Deutschlandfunk on Monday that it can be assumed that the mutation had already reached Germany. He stressed that the data on the mutation were still very incomplete. Johnson’s information on the degree of infection of the mutation is an estimate.
The virus mutation has yet to be detected in Austria, he told a request from the Health Ministry’s APA on Sunday. However, the possibility that the variant has already occurred sporadically in this country cannot be ruled out, Andreas Bergthaler of the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) in Vienna said Monday in the magazine 1-noon.
