Heathrow opens terminal for arrivals from India

London, June 1: London’s busy Heathrow Airport opened a dedicated new terminal on Tuesday for arrivals from countries designated as “red list”, such as India, for a higher risk of Covid-19 transmission. Travellers on direct flights from such destinations will now go through Terminal 3 and then move directly to a governmentapproved quarantine facility booked at the passengers’ own expense.

It comes after the London airport’s staff had raised fears for their safety because of overcrowding, amid concerns that travellers arriving from red list countries from where travel is effectively banned except for British and Irish nationals or limited exceptions were mixing with those from green and amber. “Red list routes will likely be a feature of UK travel for the foreseeable future as countries vaccinate their populations at different rates, a Heathrow Airport spokesperson said.

“We’re adapting Heathrow to this longer-term reality by initially opening a dedicated arrivals facility in Terminal 3 from 1 June for red list passengers arriving on direct flights. While opening this facility will be logistically very challenging, our hope is that it will enable Border Force to carry out its duties more efficiently as passenger volumes increase in line with the green list. Until then, the current red list system will remain in place, the spokesperson said. Currently, there are 43 countries on the UK government’s red list to cover regions linked with high-risk Covid-19 variants.