Amber gamblers

Your report “Scottish airports back legal challenge to save summer” (18 June) gets to the heart of the ongoing argument between public health experts, politicians and the travel industry about whether foreign travel is safe. Covid cases are now at record levels in cities like Edinburgh and a rise in hospitalisations is hampering the backlog of treating serious illnesses. Vaccines, meanwhile, are still catching up, yet we are opening up foreign travel to amber countries with higher case rates and increasing the risk of the importation of new variants.

Last year we had to lockdown in the autumn and winter because we opened up foreign travel too early and imported new variants. This year we opened up much earlier and paid the price with the delta variant from India. Public health officials are voicing concern that we are once again opening up foreign travel too quickly to protect lives and avoid hospitalisations.

Far too many people have died unnecessarily over the last 15 months and it is about time we think seriously about appointing a panel of public health experts to keep us safe.

This would take the decisionmaking process away from untrustworthy politicians. The latest push to allow double vaccinated travellers the right to travel without testing and quarantining is ironic given that as a result of the current approach, allowing foreign travel for leisure even though it is not advised means airports like Edinburgh are booming, operating up to 60 departures a day.

All this makes a mockery of the Scottish Government claim in your report that travel to amber countries for leisure is “risky”. If they were worried at all they would be working to make travel to amber countries illegal. Instead they are running scared from a powerful travel industry.

Once again the Government has allowed foreign travel, a means to give any new variants a free pass to enter Scotland. It’s time we gave the experts more say.

NEIL ANDERSON

Edinburgh