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Passengers traveling from the UK to Germany on Sunday faced confusion, long waits and even a tense night at the airport as authorities on the ground struggled to resolve a new travel ban.
Germany joined several other countries in announcing a ban on flights from the UK after a new strain of coronavirus was discovered in England.
The travel ban went into effect at midnight, a few hours after it was announced. The sudden decision left airport officials and border control police unsure what to do with the latest arrivals, which included a mix of British and German nationals as well as German residents.
German authorities and health officials were quick to administer coronavirus tests to newly arrived passengers, though dozens of people stayed until Monday morning until the test results returned. At least one passenger tested positive for the virus, but it was not immediately clear if it was the new strain.
Tensions in Hannover
Some 63 people who arrived in Hanover from London on Sunday night prevented them from leaving the airport, creating tensions among the detained passengers.
On Monday morning, local officials said one of the passengers had tested positive for COVID-19. Health authorities are conducting further tests to determine whether the person is infected with the new strain, the Hannover city government said.
“We are at Hannover airport and we are being held against our will, they tested us and prohibited us from leaving the premises while waiting for the results,” said Manuela Thomys, in a video shared online by the German newspaper image Newspaper.
“Please help us go!” the German-speaking woman appealed in the video. In the background you could see a person with a baby.
The passengers spent the night in the terminal, with cots prepared for the passengers. Some expressed concern about the possibility of becoming infected while detained at the airport.
“Our goal is to prevent the new variant of the virus from entering the region,” Hannover health official Andreas Kranz said.
In contrast to videos filmed by some of the passengers, Kranz said the passengers showed “quite a bit of understanding of the measures.”
What happened at other German airports?
Similar chaotic scenes were witnessed in Berlin, as arrivals on the last flight from the UK were delayed at passport control.
Tom Nuttall, Berlin correspondent for The Economist, was among those on board. In a series of tweets, he described how the authorities allowed German citizens to pass, but held off non-Germans.
Legal residents were eventually allowed to leave the airport and required to be tested later, while non-residents reportedly had to spend the night at the airport and be tested in the morning. Those without a negative test were “told they had to go back to the UK,” he said.
Journalist Patrick Kingsley, correspondent for the New York Times, who was also on the flight, said authorities let German citizens through without proof.
Some 120 passengers from Great Britain had to spend the night in a transit area at Frankfurt airport.
In Stuttgart, the passengers of the last UK plane were taken to the airport’s test center in small groups. Those who received a negative test were allowed to retrieve their luggage, but have yet to be quarantined at their final destination.
What do we know about the new COVID strain?
Last week, British health officials identified a new strain of coronavirus, with initial findings pointing to it being more contagious than other strains.
The variant does not cause an increase in severe disease cases and does not cause more serious side effects.
Researchers are still evaluating whether the strain will be more or less receptive to the vaccines that are currently being implemented.
Although no final conclusions have been made, health authorities have said the mutation is unlikely to hamper the effectiveness of the vaccines.
rs / rt (AFP, dpa)
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