Travel rule changes ‘inconsistent’, says airline boss
There is “no consistency” and a lack of transparency over UK travel rules, a top airline chief has said, after Portugal was removed from the green list.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, accused ministers of reneging on a promise to provide a travel watchlist that would warn when a country’s status could be changed.
“It would be a list of countries that were on the cusp — or there was a risk that they would be moving from green to amber – so passengers were aware of that, it was fully transparent and they would be taking that risk when they booked,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
“It was entirely to stop what happened last summer when countries were moving up and down off the corridor list on a weekly basis and we saw people stranded overseas and then desperate to come home again because they couldn’t afford to quarantine.”
The airline chief said the lack of a watchlist had caused “pandemonium” and said the government was “changing their mind and the criteria on a weekly basis”.
In a surprise move this week the government moved Portugal from the green list to the amber list, meaning travellers returning from the country will have to isolate for 10 days.
The decision sent airline stocks into decline, left Brits scrambling to return home and was met with anger by bosses.
Easyjet chief executive Johan Lundgren said the decision “simply wasn’t justified” by the science.
“This shock decision to add Portugal to the Amber list is a huge blow to those who are currently in Portugal and those who have booked to be reunited with loved ones, or take a well-deserved break this summer.
Michael O’Leary of Ryanair, which also added hundreds of flights, said the government was “just making it up as it goes”.