Coronavirus Impact on Air Travel

[mike current]

O'Leary has a point tho. Public transport between airports and homes is pretty much unrestricted. Badly applied social distancing, sometimes non existent.
If there's a scientific reason to quarantine international arrivals (which remains to be proven), the purpose is pretty much defeated the moment you mix with public transport.

My view is that the 3 weeks review will take us to the end of June when it will be relaxed. Ryanair and others have decided they want to restart in July and that's what'll happen.

[Buster the Bear]

Superb news for the long term health of our country. With massed migration and a huge increase in population over the last 20 years, no wonder the NHS is under stress! Biggest risk to any country, is via importing Covid-19.

As of June 8th the UK is open. Just need to isolate for 14 days on arrival. Why is that a problem?

Only answer if it does not involve my 'holibobs are ruined', or 'travel is vital'.

With approaching 40,000 deaths attributed to a new virus, lives or holidays? French took to their easing of lockdown by flooding beaches. Magaluf could become a hotspot, with little or no facilities in place to treat Covid! Airlines, airports and associated supported infrastructures are replaceable, whilst a life taken due to Covid, is sadly not.

[Yeehaw22]

One thing I dont understand is, its taken 12 days from announcing the quarantine on bojo's Sunday brief to announcing it again today and now its another 17 days before implementing.

Can anyone explain that how that if this is a vital protection why is it taking 29 days for it to happen? Other countries have closed borders overnight or within 48 hours.

All this whilst the man who is really pulling the strings of the prime minister can't follow his own lockdown instructions.

We really are becoming a laughing stock of a nation.

[Pistonprop]

Buster, 14 days isolation is no good to me if I need to conduct some personal business in the UK just for a few days!

[racedo]

Originally Posted by Buster the Bear

Superb news for the long term health of our country. With massed migration and a huge increase in population over the last 20 years, no wonder the NHS is under stress! Biggest risk to any country, is via importing Covid-19.

16% of NHS nursing staff are non UK born, 25% of Doctors are non UK born.............................. this is not taking into account the support staff within the NHS.

Travel has assisted the NHS in getting staff trained elsewhere.

[inOban]

Our immigrants are generally younger than the rest of the population. The only NHS service they use is maternity. On the other hand, our elderly expats are a major drain on the Spanish health services. They will be glad that, come January 2021, our ehic cards wont be valid.

[LTNman]

So the argument is that because people have to get from the airport to home by some form of transport the quarantine is pointless. Seems to be a pointless argument to me as once they have reached home they should not be able to spread it further.

Either people want to get rid of this virus or they don’t. O’Leary isn’t even a UK citizen so who cares what he has to say anyway when his only concern is filling his aircraft and not the death rates in a foreign country like the UK.

[SWBKCB]

My view is that the 3 weeks review will take us to the end of June when it will be relaxed. Ryanair and others have decided they want to restart in July and that's what'll happen.

How much would you bet on that? Would you book a holiday for July with the possibility of having to self isolate for 14 days on return?

The arguement for not having quarantine earlier is that the level of infection in the population was so high that the amount imported made little difference and the greater good was allowing people to repatriate. Once the general level of infection becomes low enough, the possibility of a 'second wave' due to imported infection becomes significant and so needs to be controlled.

[bmaviscount]

Originally Posted by Gurnard

People arriving from the Channel Islands won't need to self-isolate, but don't think you can go on holiday there. Arrivals in the Channel Islands need to self-isolate for 14 days - in Guernsey until at least the 31st August - and probably later.

Have they specified the 31st August?

[Yeehaw22]

Originally Posted by LTNman

Either people want to get rid of this virus or they don’t.

All the experts have clearly said this virus will not simply disappear. Its going to be around for a long time, with no guarantee of a vaccine. We have to learn and adapt to live with it. Its not as simple as 'getting rid' of it.

[Yeehaw22]

Originally Posted by SWBKCB

The arguement for not having quarantine earlier is that the level of infection in the population was so high that the amount imported made little difference and the greater good was allowing people to repatriate. Once the general level of infection becomes low enough, the possibility of a 'second wave' due to imported infection becomes significant and so needs to be controlled.

Total nonsense. Look at every country which has been deemed to be a success in their measures. Early and total lockdown was a common tactic. The fact is the powers that be wanted a big chunk of the population to get this virus for supposed herd immunity. When things started getting out of hand they have backpedalled and then resorted to lockdown and now quarantine. Only we're about 2 or 3 months too late.

[Gurnard]

Originally Posted by bmaviscount

Have they specified the 31st August?

Aurigny plan to resume "normal" services to Guernsey on the 1st September. However, the authorities in Guernsey have given no specific date when the 14 day quarantine will be lifted. It has been suggested this may be October at the earliest. Therefore in the next few weeks we may see Aurigny pushing on the date when "normal" flights will resume and cancelling a further block of flights from the 1st September. As with everything else it remains a case of wait and see.

[stormin norman]

Messages from the UK Government have been so mixed recently, nobody has a clue to what's going on.

[racedo]

Originally Posted by LTNman

Either people want to get rid of this virus or they don’t. O’Leary isn’t even a UK citizen so who cares what he has to say anyway when his only concern is filling his aircraft and not the death rates in a foreign country like the UK.

Well then neither is Willie Walsh of IAG or Johan Lundgren of Easyjet so should we dismiss anything they say because they are not UK citizens ?

There is a somewhat insular perspective being taken within this thread,

[racedo]

Originally Posted by stormin norman

Messages from the UK Government have been so mixed recently, nobody has a clue to what's going on.

It is not the "mixed messages", it genuinely its the nobody has a clue, lets make it up based on false pseudo science and fake projections with an unwillingess to challenge because then every death will be swiftly laid out as "Politician X is the case of it all".

A spineless incompetent Govt from the top down is destroying not just the airline industry but the whole economy by making it up as they go along.

[SWBKCB]

A spineless incompetent Govt from the top down is destroying not just the airline industry but the whole economy by making it up as they go along.

Making it up as they go along? Lets be fair (!), difficult to do otherwise when there is no certainty. False psuedo science or a just a lack of clear scientific evidence?

[LBAflyer22]

Originally Posted by Buster the Bear

Superb news for the long term health of our country. With massed migration and a huge increase in population over the last 20 years, no wonder the NHS is under stress! Biggest risk to any country, is via importing Covid-19.

With approaching 40,000 deaths attributed to a new virus, lives or holidays? French took to their easing of lockdown by flooding beaches. Magaluf could become a hotspot, with little or no facilities in place to treat Covid! Airlines, airports and associated supported infrastructures are replaceable, whilst a life taken due to Covid, is sadly not.

Far too late. This should have been done 10 if not 11 weeks ago. We have had weeks of people arriving from Italy (previously the epicentre) and New York (epicentre in April) plus many other destinations which have quite happily got of aircraft, walked through customs with no testing, who have then used public transport to get into London and then further around the UK. Some of these people will have been carriers of the disease. But we, as the UK, didn't know this and have let them continue to spread the disease throughout the UK. And as usual our incompetent government, with the most incompetent home secretary this country has ever seen, we are 10 weeks too late to enforcing 14 days quarantine on arrival.

Meanwhile over in Greece and probably followed in other countries they are testing all arrivals for COVID19 and once you get your results you are free to enter the country. This is what the UK should be adapting now not some aviation and tourism strangling policy which the government are yet to support. When industry experts are calling for this to be over turned it speaks volumes about how shit the policy really is. Too little, too late.

[Playamar2]

Most countries is Europe have had a strategy and they have stuck with it, whether it be Sweden with no lockdown or Spain & Italy with a strict lockdown. They all seem to be in better shape at the moment than the UK. The UK have changed their strategy too often and it doesn't instill confidence. They need to get the balance right between saving lives, getting the economy moving & keeping the population onside. Why they haven't gone down the 'air bridge path despite some positive talk about them from Ministers is another case of inept leadership.

[LTNman]

Why they haven't gone down the 'air bridge path despite some positive talk about them from Ministers is another case of inept leadership.

I note that everyone here have all the answers and are all experts on the subject of Covid 19. And there I was thinking it was a new virus with no rule book or manual to fall back on. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing but I do agree that the UK borders should have been closed in February even through the normal suspects would have all complained that it was an over reaction, that would damage the economy and tell the world we were closed for business.

[Yeehaw22]

Originally Posted by LTNman

I note that everyone here have all the answers and are all experts on the subject of Covid 19. And there I was thinking it was a new virus with no rule book or manual to fall back on. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing but I do agree that the UK borders should have been closed in February even through the normal suspects would have all complained that it was an over reaction, that would damage the economy and tell the world we were closed for business.

Thats not strictly true. They had foresight. Ok you cant trust the Chinese reports as gospel but they had italy and then Spain showing what was happening. Did they just think 'nah that won't happen here'? They failed to act. They went down a different road because they and 'the science' knew better. We were closed for business anyway. But now as everyone else is starting to feel their way out we are slamming the door.

Does anyone know what the significance of the 8th June is? Or is it just another date plucked out of the air? I cant for the life of me understand why it wasn't implemented when announced rather than 29 days later.

With everything that was being shown from those countries I doubt you would have had many complaints at an early decisive lockdown.

I see the tit for tat has now started with the French saying any country who quarantines their arrivals will have the complement repaid.