The UK Government is expected to drop its 14-day quarantine policy by the end of the month in favour of ‘air bridges’ to low-risk countries, it was claimed today.
Travel company bosses in Britain say they have been assured that the plans will altered within weeks, with two legal challenges already filed against Ministers.
The Foreign Office is also thought to be close to dropping its advice against all non-essential travel around the world for Britons – and could do so by the end of June.
It comes as budget airline Ryanair revealed bookings for flights to Mediterranean destinations had doubled compared to a week ago, reported The Times.
Passengers arrive at London Heathrow Airport yesterday as new quarantine measures come in
Home Secretary Priti Patel speaks in the House of Commons in London yesterday as she comes under pressure over the Government’s new quarantine scheme for UK arrivals
All UK arrivals – including Britons – must now fill in an online ‘contact locator’ form setting out where they will live for a fortnight. Refusal to do so risks a £1,000 fine.
But Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has labelled it ‘worse than useless’ amid claims police will take ‘no immediate action’ even if a passenger gives a false address.
One legal challenge has already been launched by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair in a joint action which plans to ask the High Court for a judicial review.
A second has also been put forward in a pre-action letter by lawyers on behalf of Simon Dolan, owner of Southend-based charter airline Jota Aviation.
His team have written to Home Secretary Priti Patel and pointed out that even the Government’s own scientific experts had not supported the quarantine plans.
And a third challenge is now being considered by the new group Quash Quarantine which represents more than 500 hotels, travel and hospitality firms.
Its spokesman Paul Charles, who is also chief executive of the travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline: ‘The Quash Quarantine group, consisting of over 500 travel and hospitality companies seeking to overturn the recently-introduced quarantine measures, has received private assurances from senior Government sources that travel corridors will be in place from June 29.
‘We urge the government to signal to the travel industry publicly and urgently that this is the case, as well as amend FCO advice on non-essential travel.
‘We are still considering our options regarding legal action, including whether to join BA’s claim or launch our own action, but would prefer that June 29 is confirmed as soon as possible for the start of travel corridors.
‘The industry needs urgent visibility on a timetable for travel to begin again.’
But the plans do not appear to be putting off British travellers, with Ryanair reporting a large increase in bookings among UK families.
Passengers gather near passport control at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 arrivals hall yesterday
Passengers abide by the social distancing measures as they queue at the Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras yesterday
Mr O’Leary said: ‘Our bookings doubled this weekend compared with the previous weekend; mainly with UK families booking holidays to go to the Canaries, the Algarve, the Balearics, Malaga and Italy.
‘Most people in the UK know that the quarantine is completely bonkers and useless. Most are gambling, in my view correctly, that the quarantine has so little credibility that it will be removed before the end of June anyway.’
One border source said yesterday: ‘It’s been a complete farce. The vast majority of passengers have not filled in forms in advance.
‘Those who have filled it in are given an online reference number, but immigration officers can’t log in to check whether that form has been filled in properly.
‘It’s been impossible to socially distance in the Heathrow arrivals halls because so many people have been milling around.
‘There’s been trouble at Heathrow and at Calais and Coquelles, where the UK border checks take place for the Channel Tunnel. It’s a mess.’
The scheme was further undermined last night as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) issued guidance which revealed the light touch forces will adopt when checking up on travellers during quarantine.
Even if a false address appears to have been given, police should take ‘no immediate further action’, the guidelines say, and the case simply referred to the UK Border Force.
If police visit an address where someone is supposed to be self-isolating and there is no answer, the NPCC says further visits are ‘suggested’ but there should again be ‘no immediate further action by police’. That case should be referred to Public Health England.
And if police discover someone at a different address to the one they gave on their form, they should only remove the person to their given address ‘as a last resort’. An NPCC spokesman said most of the responsibility fell to Public Health England, adding: ‘Police have a limited role in quarantine regulations.’
In the event of a case being referred by PHE to the police for action, he added: ‘We will seek to establish the circumstances and we will continue our approach of engaging, explaining, encouraging and, only as a last resort, enforcing.’
Passengers arriving at Stansted on a flight from Eindhoven in the Netherlands criticised the measures yesterday.
Ali Gurlek, 30, a software developer from London who spent the weekend visiting friends in the Netherlands, criticised the quarantine rule as lacking in ‘common sense’.
He said he had to take public transport from the airport to his home where he will self-isolate, adding: ‘If we have it then it’s going to spread that.’
‘It doesn’t look very common sense,’ he added.
At the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras, Sylvain Preumont, 50, a business manager who makes a weekly trip from Paris, said as a frequent traveller he was exempt but that he was no fan of the policy.
‘It makes no sense,’ he said. ‘This was invented to reassure people… then we realise that it’s not feasible.’
A sign outlining ‘temperature check trial’ measures at Heathrow Airport yesterday ‘to aid detection of elevated body temperatures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said border measures were needed but quarantine was a ‘blunt instrument’.
‘We have got the situation where – weeks ago – other countries put quarantine in and we didn’t,’ he told LBC Radio. ‘Now as everybody’s lifting it we’re putting it in. I would much prefer to see some sort of testing regime at the airport.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘The most efficient way to get through the border is to fill out the form before travelling here.
‘There are also devices at ports for passengers to fill in the form on arrival, to make sure that people who may not be aware are still able to comply.’
Meanwhile, a leaked Home Office document seen by The Daily Telegraph reportedly said there was no method for officials to ensure a person’s details are ‘genuine’.
Shadow Home Office minister Conor McGinn told the Commons that ‘scientists say the quarantine introduced (yesterday) has come too late’.
He added: ‘The police say it’s unenforceable. The tourism and aviation industry say it will ruin them and the Home Secretary’s own department has said it is very hard to imagine how it will practically work.’
Ms Patel stood by the policy, reiterating that the approach to border measures was consistent and appropriate.
Meanwhile one travel firm said many holidaymakers are planning staycations this year because they see foreign trips as ‘too risky’ and want to splash out in 2021.
Kuoni has reported a ‘clear upturn’ in demand for holidays next year, with more than half of customers heading to the white sand beaches of the Maldives.
The company has also seen strong sales for Mauritius, Thailand, Spain and India.
Saturday was Kuoni’s best day for bookings since the coronavirus lockdown began in March.
UK campsites are experiencing a surge in bookings, while Auto Trader recently said interest in online adverts for caravans was up nearly a fifth compared with the same time last year.