People share their frustration amid red list travel disruption

People have shared their frustration at having their travel plans disrupted, after the Government’s decision to put six southern African countries on the red list.

Gill Dixon, a 52-year-old risk and compliance director from Kent, told the PA news agency that she travelled to South Africa for her nephew’s memorial service.

“I’m very angry, this came out of the blue. I’m here due to a family bereavement not for pleasure.

“It’s utterly ridiculous, we could have had more warning”, she said.

Ms Dixon is due to return to the UK on Monday. “I won’t get back before we have to quarantine in a hotel,” she said.

South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia were put on the UK’s red list at noon on Friday.

Passengers arriving from those countries after 4am on Sunday will be required to spend 10 days in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £2,285.

Those arriving before then will need to self-isolate at home for 10 days and take additional coronavirus tests.

Direct flights from the six countries are banned until the hotel quarantine scheme resumes, leading to cancellations by airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Gary Mackenzie, a 35-year-old manager of a technology company from the Cotswolds, is in South Africa for a family reunion.

He told PA that he was considering flying home via a third country and isolating there, rather than doing the UK’s hotel quarantine with his two-year-old child.

“If we’d had 48 hours to get back then we’d probably have done that, more notice would have been nice for us personally.

He added: “We knew it was always a risk this happened when we booked the trip so it’s frustrating, but I do understand the reasons.”

Symran Padam, a 30-year-old hairdresser from Coventry, is due to fly to South Africa in December with her husband for his sister’s wedding.

She now does not know whether they will make the trip.

“My husband hasn’t seen his family now for over three years, I’m just absolutely devastated and so angry with the whole situation,” she said.

“(I’m) still holding hope it may change in two weeks but who knows”, she added.