[ad_1]
British tourists will be able to enjoy holidays in France this summer after being exempt from strict quarantine rules.
The UK government confirmed yesterday that it will compel anyone flying into the country to remain isolated for 14 days to stop new coronavirus infections.
Over the weekend, France threatened to impose an ‘eye for an eye’ action against British travelers, meaning that anyone in the UK would have been quarantined upon arrival in France.
But Boris Johnson yesterday called French President Emmanuel Macron and agreed to a mutual exemption from the measures for tourists from both countries.
People traveling between Britain (left, Boris Johnson) and France (right to right, Emmanuel Macron) will not face the two-week quarantine announced by the UK government last week.
The two leaders said in a joint statement: ‘The Prime Minister and the President agreed to work together to carry out appropriate border measures.
‘This cooperation is particularly necessary for the management of our common border.
‘Quarantine measures will not be applied to travelers coming from France at this stage. Any measure on both sides would be taken in a concerted and reciprocal manner.
“A working group will be established between the two governments to guarantee this consultation in the coming weeks.”
Last night, UK airlines threatened to land their fleets in response to the government quarantine scheme, which they said would effectively remove any hope of a resumption of international travel.
The Airport Operators Association, which represents Britain’s airports, said it would have a “devastating impact” on the industry.
According to government plans, all persons arriving at airports, ports and on Eurostar trains must provide an address where they will immediately isolate themselves for 14 days to ensure that they are free of coronaviruses.
Britain said on Friday starting in June that all arrivals in the UK, including returning Britons, would be quarantined for 14 days and face fines of £ 1,000 or deportation if they do not. Pictured: Arrivals from Terminal 2 at London Heathrow Airport on Saturday
Authorities will carry out random checks, with penalties of up to £ 1,000 fines and deportation for those who violate the quarantine.
The plans mean that any UK traveler who wants to go on vacation for fifteen days to countries other than France will have been out of their workplace for four weeks as they will have to be quarantined for two weeks upon their return to Gran Brittany.
Tim Alderslade, executive director of the industry body, Airlines UK, whose members include British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, easyJet and major tour operators TUI and Jet2, said: ‘All of us, including the Government, need to adapt to the new normal but closing Air travel in this way is not the way to do it.
“The ministers are telling people that they can no longer travel for the foreseeable future and the airlines will respond based on their operations.”
Airlines are seeking an extension of the licensing plan until October plus ‘holidays’ by doing the duty of the air passenger and other government charges.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic has appointed advisers in case he needs to go over to the administration after the government turned him down for a £ 500 million bailout.
The airline is making 3,150 employees, a third of its workforce, redundant, and is still desperately trying to shore up its finances.
Experts say this does not mean that insolvency is inevitable, but that it is something they are legally required to align.
The travel industry reacted with horror to the news of the two-week quarantine, and a company boss warned it could “be completely over.” Photo Shows: British Airways planes at Bournemouth Airport this week
Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Shai Weiss told The Sunday Times yesterday that he was “100 percent certain” that the airline can survive.
On the proposed quarantine scheme over the weekend, Karen Dee of the Airport Operators Association said: ‘The quarantine would not only have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry but also on the economy as a whole. .
“If people have to be quarantined for 14 days, they will be much less likely to want to travel, so there will be a dramatic impact on us at a time when we already see a decrease in passenger numbers of about 98 percent ”
The Balpa pilots union questioned the “scientific basis” of the proposed quarantine rules and warned that the industry would be on a “death spiral” without government support.
A government spokesperson said: “The aviation sector is important to the UK economy and ministers regularly communicate with their senior representatives to discuss the challenges … and the ways in which we can support.”
