A mix-up on the government’s new online quarantine form has given the option for travellers entering the UK to declare themselves as being from countries which no longer exist.
Those filling out the Home Office’s website where able to claim they were from places such as Czechoslovakia and the USSR – both of which have not existed for almost three decades.
Other options included on the drop-down list were the German Democratic Republic, known as East Germany, which was reunified with West Germany in 1990, Upper Volta, which is now the West African country of Burkina Faso and Southern Rhodesia, which is now part of Zimbabwe.
The form is part of the government’s plan to force all travellers coming into the UK to self-quarantine for two weeks on arrival.
A mix-up on the government’s new online quarantine form has given the option for travellers entering the UK to declare themselves as being from countries which no longer exist
Those filling out the Home Office’s website where able to claim they were from places such as Czechoslovakia and the USSR – both of which have not existed for almost three decades. Other options included on the drop-down list were the German Democratic Republic, known as East Germany, which was reunified with West Germany in 1990.
The controversial policy, which has sparked outrage from the travel industry, was brought in last week as the government aims to reduce the risk of a second coronavirus wave.
The Home Office has today said the error on the form was caused when those setting up the page mistakenly used a list of possible countries where people were born.
A Home Office spokesperson said:’We have updated the Contact Locator Form for arrivals into the UK, which initially used a list of possible countries where people could have been born, as the list for countries people could have travelled from.
‘All arrivals could continue using the form given that all countries were still included.’
The government first announced the quarantine policy last month as part of new measures to try and slow the spread of coronavirus in the UK and prevent a second wave of infections.
The policy, which officially came into force last week, makes it law that all people coming into the UK must self-quarantine for at least 14 days, regardless of if they have symptoms.
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.
The government first announced the quarantine policy last month as part of new measures to try and slow the spread of coronavirus in the UK and prevent a second wave of infections. Pictured: A person is seen wearing a protective face mask while arriving at Heathrow Airport
The policy, which officially came into force last week, makes it law that all people coming into the UK must self-quarantine for at least 14 days, regardless of if they have symptoms
Yesterday, EasyJet completed its first flight since grounding all of its fleet following the coronavirus lockdown (pictured)
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. Pictured: An EasyJet passenger boards a flight while wearing a face mask
But the policy has sparked fury among bosses in the travel industry, with aviation chiefs comparing the requirement to hanging up a ‘Britiain is closed’ sign.
They have also suggested the wider easing of lockdown will do little to help restart travel if it comes into force.
Meanwhile, more than 200 businesses last month joined a campaign urging the government to drop the idea, while a number of ex-Tory politicians and current MPS have voiced concerns.
Last week British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair launched legal action against the quarantine policy, which it described as ‘flawed’.
The airlines announced they have asked for a judicial review to be heard ‘as soon as possible’, claiming the measures introduced this week will have a ‘devastating effect on British tourism and the wider economy’.
EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren poses in front of an aircraft of the company at Gatwick Airport, in Gatwick
They said they have seen no evidence of when proposed air bridges – which allow quarantine free travel between the UK and a select number other countries – will be implemented.
Meanwhile, the website mix-up comes after passengers arriving at UK airports on the day it was implemented described scenes of ‘pandemonium’ after the introduction of 14-day quarantine rules requiring them to fill out an online form.
Travellers told of three-hour wait times at Manchester Airport, some said the QR codes they were asked to scan did not work and others claimed ‘snotty’ border guards were saying they should have filled in the arrival form before landing.
Travellers must give their phone number and an address for self-isolation, but about half of passengers arriving at UK airports said they were unaware of the policy on the day it was introduced.
Meanwhile, Britons eager for a post-lockdown getaway are likely shelving their plans to fly abroad after pictures of crammed easyJet cabins left them horrified.
Passengers on the airline’s first flight in three months yesterday declared it impossible to maintain social distancing while the middle seat remained in use.
Photographs of travellers bunched less that two metres apart, on the flight from London Gatwick to Glasgow, came as CEO Johan Lundgren that he would feel ‘100 per cent safe’ because of measures taken by easyJet to mitigate contamination.
EasyJet grounded its entire fleet in March after the government introduced its coronavirus lockdown laws, while British Airways stopped all of its flights from Gatwick Airport.