Gatwick boss says passengers should be given compulsory virus tests 48 hours before they board planes as part of new travel measures once lockdown is lifted
- Stewart Wingate said passengers should be required to carry ‘health passports’
- Proposals to get Britain’s skies moving again are being discussed in government
- Heathrow’s boss has also called for internationally agreed restrictions on travel
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Travellers should be given compulsory virus tests 48 hours before departure once lockdown is lifted, the head of Britain’s second busiest airport has said.
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick’s chief executive, also called for passengers to be required to carry ‘health passports’ when travelling abroad to prove they are clear of the virus and wear face covers on flights.
The proposals to get Britain’s skies moving again come as discussions are ongoing in Whitehall whether people will still be able to take their summer holidays.
The Department for Transport has set up a working group including civil servants and aviation industry leaders to discuss how to allow global travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
The boss of Britain’s second busiest airport also called for travellers to be required to carry ‘health passports’ when travelling on international flights. Pictured: Gatwick airport
Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, (left) has called for the government to enact measures to get flights in the air again. The Department of Transport, led by Grant Shapps (right) has set up a working group to discuss options
Mr Wingate told The Times discussions are ongoing as to whether these tests should be carried out in airports or in communities.
‘For example, would it be better for a passenger to arrive at airport with some sort of certification that said “I have been checked over the last 48 hours and I am Covid-free”?’, he said.
‘Those are the sorts of things that I am sure will be considered by the restart and recovery group.’
He added: ‘Passengers increasingly are travelling wearing facial coverings and I am sure that’s something that the government team will be considering.’
The boss of Heathrow has called for internationally agreed standards for travel that could include temperature checks, antibody tests and a requirement that all passengers carry a health passport.
He also called on Public Health England to release data proving its claims that temperature screening is ineffective, which has led to no government-controlled checks being set up at British airports.
Airports have remained mostly empty since the Foreign Office advised against international travel. Pictured above is Gatwick Airport’s empty southern terminal
But at least 15,000 people are still flying into the UK and not being checked every day
Pictured above is the empty South Terminal at Gatwick Airport during lockdown
The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said yesterday measures to screen passengers arriving at UK airports will remain ‘under review’.
He also hinted at measures being introduced when Britain moves into the next stage of the crisis but said, at present, there is no evidence countries including the US which have locked down flights are ‘weathering the storm of the coronavirus any better’.
The Greek tourism minister has hinted holidaymakers will still be able to visit the country in summer providing specific protocols are put in place throughout the EU.
Harry Theoharis told SKAI TV the government was working to start its tourism season, with dates pushed through until at least September, and possibly October.
‘There may be some demand for October and maybe even November,’ he said, ‘but this is something that we will examine at the second stage after solving the season’s main issues’.
The possible enactment of restrictions to allow air travel comes as at least 15,000 people are allowed into Britain without checks every day, according to reports.
Under the system of so-called ‘enhanced monitoring’, passengers are handed information leaflets and told to self-isolate for 14 days following their landing.
Critics say the decision not to limit arrivals and check passengers threatens the health of the nation and makes a mockery of the lockdown conditions imposed on the rest of Britain.