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Just after 7:30 am on Friday morning, the London Luton Airport arrival hall revived after a 10-day shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100 passengers arrived on Wizz Air flight W6 4301 from the Bulgarian capital Sofia, on the airline’s first scheduled commercial flight since the crisis.
Most of those who arrived were temporary farm workers heading to fruit and vegetable farms across the UK. Others said they had come to work on construction sites, such as truckers or kebab shops.
There were also members of British-Bulgarian families, who found themselves trapped in Bulgaria when the coronavirus hit and the borders were closed.
Among the first to arrive in the arrivals hall was Sakak, a 35-year-old man from a town near the capital, Sofia, who asked not to reveal his last name. He and all the other passengers wore masks provided by the airline.
“I need to work, I need the money,” Sakak said when asked why he had chosen to fly from Bulgaria, where there have been relatively few cases, to the United Kingdom, which is one of the most affected countries in the world. a per capita basis. “I come to work on the farm in the UK every year; I make money for my family. “
Sakak said he was “a little” concerned about the high rate of Covid-19 infection in the UK, but said “it will probably be the same worldwide in the end.” He added: “I come from a quiet town in the country and there is no crown there.”
There have been only 1,541 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 66 deaths in Bulgaria, according to the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center. That compares to 177,454 cases and 27,510 deaths in the UK.
Sakak heads to work on a farm in Maidstone, Kent. “I work as a driver taking people to the fields to pick raspberries and strawberries,” he said.
While the airport is open, it lacks the noise, queues, and shopping opportunities we look forward to when traveling. Only two flights are slated to arrive in Luton on Friday (both Wizz Air flights from Sofia) bringing a few hundred passengers, compared to a pre-pandemic average of 49,000 passengers.
There is nowhere to buy a cocktail, beer, or even coffee, as all stores are closed. Most car parks are closed, but two sturdy bus drivers are available to drive newcomers to the Luton Airport Train Station. Addison Lee’s upbeat drivers are offering one-way fares to central London for £ 96.
A Warwickshire farmer in the arrivals hall said he was waiting to greet seven seasonal workers hired to pick vegetables. The farmer, who declined to give his name, said that if Eastern European workers did not come to work in the UK this year, “acres of food will rot in the fields.” He said it had already been much more difficult than usual to hire workers this season. Only four of the seven workers he expected arrived.
Alissa Kotsant, 22, a Ramsgate psychology student, said she had traveled to Bulgaria to see her family before the virus struck and found herself trapped there. “There are more viruses in the UK than Bulgaria, but my life is here,” he said. “Had to go back”.
Kotsant said she was not afraid during the flight despite being closely confined to many other people and unable to maintain a physical distance of 2 meters, as advised by the government.
“It was good,” said Kotsant. “There were no sick people on the flight, and we all wore masks. You could smell that the plane had just been cleaned.
However, neither the airline nor the airports measured passenger temperatures for signs of fever, a key symptom of the viral infection.
Kotsant said the flight was almost full and that Wizz Air had not restricted travel in the middle seats to create more space for customers.
EasyJet, Emirates and Delta have suggested they will leave the intermediate seats empty when the coronavirus travel restrictions are lifted. Ryanair has said it will not resume flights if it cannot sell center seat tickets as it will make profit much more difficult. Iata, the global airline association, hopes that government measures will impose social distancing on flights.
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Owain Jones, Managing Director of Wizz Air UK, said: “As we restart select Luton flights to provide essential service to passengers who need to travel, our primary concern is the health, safety and well-being of our customers and crew. . The protection measures we are implementing will guarantee as many sanitary conditions as possible. ”
The airline said the cabin crew “should wear masks and gloves and will distribute disinfecting wipes to each passenger.” Wizz Air said passengers should wear face masks, although these would only be “initially provided by Wizz Air.”
The Hungarian airline, which is listed on the London Stock Market, is also restarting flights between Luton and Budapest, Lisbon, Tenerife, Tel Aviv and Sofia, Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria. Several of the routes are open only to citizens of destination countries.
A spokesman for London Luton Airport said: “The safety of our passengers and staff is our top priority and we continue to rigorously implement all of the government’s guidance. This includes deep cleaning, airport-wide disinfectant installation, and floor markings and signage to remind customers to keep a safe distance. We are also displaying the latest public health guide throughout the terminal.
“Air links for passengers and cargo have been recognized as essential services and the government has asked airports to remain open whenever possible, to ensure that they can continue. The decision to operate individual routes is a matter for each airline. “
