Bring in testing at airports or be left behind, say Tory MPS

Government must move to more nuanced ways of tackling pandemic or face mass job losses in aviation

LEADING Tory MPS have written to Boris Johnson urging him to introduce German-style tests at airports to replace blanket quarantine or risk being “left behind other nations”.

However, ministers have warned that testing will not be able to eliminate quarantine, as the risk of false negative results among people on arrival remains too great.

The MPS who have written to the Prime Minister include Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 Tory backbench committee, and former aviation minister Paul Maynard. They warn that the aviation industry faces “six-figure” job losses unless Mr Johnson adopts a “more nuanced” response.

But The Daily Telegraph understands that even if testing were introduced, the Government believes the minimum quarantine period to be 10 days, based on people testing negative on arrival and again after eight days, with another two days in quarantine as a fail-safe. The 20 MPS who have signed the letter also want regional “air bridges” that would connect holidaymakers and business travellers to “lowrisk” areas within countries hit by the UK travel ban.

“We are particularly worried that further quarantines and continuing weak passenger numbers will further exacerbate what is an already desperate situation, with associated job losses projected to reach six figures in the coming months,” said the MPS.

The move follows the Government’s decision to reimpose quarantine on Spain, Britain’s biggest foreign travel market, and its Balearic and Canary Islands, which led to a surge in cancellations and a near-collapse in holidaymakers’ confidence.

On Friday, quarantine was also reimposed on Luxembourg, while Portugal remained subject to the UK travel ban including the Azores and Madeira Islands even though their low rates of coronavirus mean they are classed as

“safe” destinations by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

While accepting measures to protect public health, the MPS, who also include former international trade minister Mark Garnier and DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it demonstrated that a blanket quarantine approach was “not always appropriate”.

“The Government should consider moving towards regional travel corridors, recognising that not all parts of a country may be similarly affected from a spike in infections, allowing quarantine-free travel from those places,” said the MPS. This would allow quarantinefree travel to the low-risk Balearic and Canary Islands, which, with Spain, account for 2.4million UK holidaymakers in August alone, and to Madeira and the Azores.

The MPS said airport testing would open up vital trade routes to countries like the USA and Canada following similar moves by Germany and France, which have begun schemes from this week that will allow in passengers from “red list” countries if they test negative for Covid-19.

“This would mirror the measures announced by the German government and the UK should not be left behind as other nations look to more nuanced responses that allow travel to continue and for the risks to be minimised,” said the MPS.

Heathrow airport has offered to run a trial where passengers could be tested on arrival and then at five or eight days, after which they could be released from quarantine if they proved negative for Covid-19.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, last week disclosed to the Telegraph that ministers are considering reducing quarantine from 14 to 10 days if the returning travellers test negative.

In an exclusive online article for The Telegraph, Henry Smith, chairman of the Future of Aviation Group, wrote: “If the Government is serious about Global Britain it needs to protect and support our aviation industry immediately as it faces the greatest challenge in its history.

“But the potential impacts of a blunt blanket quarantine risks damaging more than just aviation and its related industries. The concept of a ‘global Britain’ is itself at risk.”

‘We should move towards regional travel corridors, recognising not all parts of a country may be affected’