So when WILL Scots finally be allowed to jet off to the sun?
Rachel Watson explores what the changes – and Nicola Sturgeon’s delay – mean for Scotland.
Q. What does the announcement of air bridges mean?
A. From July 10, people in England will be able to visit a number of countries without having to quarantine for 14 days on their return, as under the current restriction.
Q. Can I holiday overseas and not have to self-isolate on my return?
A. No. If you are travelling from Scotland to any overseas destination you must quarantine for two weeks on your return. The changes only apply to travellers from England.
Q. If I fly to and from an English airport, can I avoid quarantine rules?
A. No. If your final destination on your return is Scotland you will have to self-isolate when you arrive home. However, there is confusion over how this would work in practice – and how it would be enforced.
At her daily briefing yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon said that this would be enforced but could not say how, leaving a loophole in her decision not to mirror the UK policy.
Q. How does enforcement of the current quarantine rules work?
A. There are already concerns that the current law is not enforceable after Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said Police Scotland are not informed of breaches.
Foreign travel is reserved, meaning Border Force is in charge of collecting and handling information from travellers, which is then handed to Health Protection Scotland.
It is understood that no breaches have so far been recorded.
Q. Is there a penalty for breaching quarantine rules?
A. Yes. In Scotland those who fail to self-isolate for 14 days on their return from a foreign destination face a fine of up to £480. Border Force can also hand out penalty notices of £60 to those who do not fill out the required contact forms.
Q. What countries can people from England now travel to without quarantine?
A. A list of ‘low’ and ‘medium’ risk countries was yesterday published by the UK Government. This names almost 0 destinations that people from England can now travel to under the air bridge policy.
They include Spain, Italy, Germany, Croatia, France, Jamaica, New Zealand, Switzerland, Turkey, Fiji, Finland, Japan and Cyprus.
Q. Will I get a foreign summer holiday this year from Scotland?
A. It is now ‘very likely’ that Scots will be able to travel to a number of countries without quarantine rules from July 10. Miss Sturgeon is set to make an announcement within days, but has so far refused to say which countries she has concerns about. It is understood Scots will get the green light to visit Spain and other EU countries without having to quarantine on their return.
Q. Which countries are considered ‘low’ risk or ‘medium’ risk?
A. The UK Government has provided just one list – which does not state which countries they class as low or medium risk.
Q. Why is Nicola Sturgeon stalling on a decision? Is she playing politics?
A. Sources within the UK Government believe Miss Sturgeon is ‘deliberately delaying’ her announcement on air bridges in a bid to ‘play politics’. But they believe she will eventually match the UK policy.
However, Miss Sturgeon has insisted she is not playing politics and is simply trying to prevent a resurgence of coronavirus in Scotland. Yesterday she said prevalence of Covid-19 is now five times lower in Scotland than in England, warning that some countries may be considered a risk for Scotland even if they are not elsewhere.
Devolved leaders in Wales and Northern Ireland are also yet to make an agreement on air bridges.
Q. What does this mean for Scotland’s travel industry?
A. Airport bosses yesterday raised serious concerns over the future of the aviation industry, as they urged officials to come up with a four-nation approach.
They are worried about the consequences for the economic recovery and the impact on future routes in and out of Scotland.