Coronavirus: Heathrow boss says UK risks 'playing a game of quarantine roulette'

The chief executive of Heathrow airport has said that the UK government must urgently introduce a passenger testing regime or face playing a game of “quarantine roulette”, after reporting a 96% fall in passenger numbers in the second quarter.

“Today’s results should serve as a clarion call for the government,” John Holland-Kaye said. “The UK needs a passenger testing regime and fast. Without it, Britain is just playing a game of quarantine roulette.”

He added that European countries are much further ahead in developing passenger testing regimes while the government’s inaction threatens the UK’s global economic position.

“As many of our customers have experienced, it’s difficult to plan a holiday that way, let alone run a business,” he said. “Testing offers a way to safely open up travel and trade to some of the UK’s biggest markets which currently remain closed. Our European competitors are racing ahead with passenger testing; if the UK doesn’t act soon, global Britain will be nothing more than a campaign slogan.”

Responding to the criticism, the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said he understood Heathrow’s frustration. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “There’s not a silver bullet of just testing immediately at the border” as the virus can incubate over a period of time.

Heathrow’s second-quarter results show that passenger numbers fell 96% while cargo volumes dropped 30%.

Last week the government abruptly announced that travellers returning from Spain would have to go into self-isolated quarantine for two weeks after a surge in new coronavirus cases in the country.

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Heathrow welcomed the government’s “risk-based approach” allowing quarantine-free flights to select “low and medium-risk” countries until any new outbreak is identified but pointed out that it only covers 30% of Heathrow’s markets.

“Establishing an alternative to quarantine for covid-free passengers from countries should be a priority for the government,” the airport operator said. “Pre-flight testing for passengers from high-risk countries will allow long-haul flying to resume, which is critical for the UK’s economic recovery.”

Heathrow said that it expected a gradual recovery in passenger numbers as more countries reopened borders but that overall passenger volumes for this year would be about 60% lower than in 2019.