Terminal chaos! ‘Whole flights’ of passengers land in UK without filling-in online quarantine form sparking THREE HOUR airport queues – after Swiss tourist arrives at Heathrow, says he’s ill… then gets on Tube
- Just 3 out of 60 people arriving on one flight had filled out form before landing
- Arriving travellers must give phone number and an address for self-isolation
- But about of passengers arriving at UK airports yesterday were unaware of rules
- ** Are you stuck or have witnessed quarantine chaos? And do you know the Swiss traveller who said he was ill? Email [email protected] **
Passengers have been delayed by up to three hours after arriving at airports in Britain this week amid a chaotic introduction of the new 14-day quarantine rules.
Just three out of 60 passengers arriving on one Ryanair flight at London Stansted from Eindhoven yesterday were said to have filled out the form before landing.
Travellers must give their phone number and an address for self-isolation, but about half of passengers arriving at UK airports yesterday were unaware of the new policy.
Yesterday one passenger arriving from Pakistan, who asked not to be named, said of the online forms: ‘It looked like the whole flight hadn’t filled it out. It was packed.’
Staff at London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex clean the North Terminal this morning
Passengers have to fill out this online form before going through the border at UK airports
And Hassan Shamshir, 36, who arrived at Heathrow yesterday after an eight-hour flight from Islamabad, told the Daily Telegraph he had no idea about the new rules.
He said he was ‘delayed one and a half to two hours just filling out the form’, but those queuing up for a Border Force tablet were there for ‘a minimum of three hours’.
Mr Shamshir added that his family ‘couldn’t really socially distance’ while waiting, and eventually got into a taxi to go to his family home where he will self-isolate.
He said: ‘Fewer counters are open, but the queues are long. It’s causing chaos. They have to open more counters as the airport gets busier or it will be eight hours.’
Passengers arrive at London Heathrow Airport yesterday after the quarantine rules came in
The Telegraph estimated that half of yesterday’s airport arrivals did not know about the new policy – a figure which passengers the newspaper spoke to also gave.
The strict new quarantine rules people face when entering Britain from yesterday
What happen when you arrive in the UK?
All passengers arriving in the UK will have to fill in a form before heading to Britain. This will include British nationals coming home, as well as foreign visitors. You must provide the address at which you will be staying in the UK – and self-isolate there. You will not be allowed to leave that address at all, or receive visitors, for 14 days.
How does it work?
Passengers will be able to complete ‘contact locator form’ on the Government’s website up to 48 hours before departure. There will be no paper versions of the form. Failing to complete the form before travelling is a crime, but there will be a short grace period and allow travellers to fill in the form electronically in the arrivals hall.
How will this be enforced?
There will be spot checks to ensure all passengers have completed a form. Border Force staff will interview people as they leave planes and at border checkpoints.
What happens if I refuse to fill in a contact locator form?
You will be given an on-the-spot £100 fine by Border Force officers.
What checks will take place during the 14-day period?
Public health officials will carry out random checks by telephone. If these raise doubts, police will visit the address, issuing a fine where necessary.
What happens if I leave the address I provide in the form?
In England, you will be issued with a £1,000 spot fine. You could even be prosecuted, and face an unlimited fine if convicted. The fine could increase beyond £1,000 if the ‘risk of infection from abroad increases’, the Home Office says. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will have their own enforcement systems.
Will foreign visitors be treated differently?
Yes. They could be removed from the UK ‘as a last resort’ if they fail to comply, the Home Office says. Officials could also refuse entry to non-UK nationals who are resident here. But they cannot refuse entry to British nationals.
Can I use public transport to travel from the airport to my isolation address?
Yes, but the Home Office says it would be preferable if you used your car.
What if I don’t have a suitable address to go to for 14 days?
The Government will provide isolation accommodation – possibly at similar venues to those used by travellers coming back from China earlier this year. The traveller will have to pay for this.
Meanwhile an unwell passenger arriving at Heathrow from Switzerland and needing to go to hospital admitted he was unaware of the new quarantine regulations.
The traveller explained that he was about to board the ‘subway’ into London despite displaying signs of an illness which he claimed were from an ear or tooth infection.
The passenger, who was wearing a face mask, told ITV News London reporter Martin Stew that he was going ‘on the subway’ after being asked: ‘How were you going to get to where you were going?’
When asked: ‘Nobody told you that you have to stay in one place for two weeks?’, the passenger simply replied: ‘No.’
During the clip the reporter went on to ask: ‘And you could have a fine of maybe £1,000 if you don’t stay in one place. It’s quite bad isn’t it? If nobody has told you it’s a problem.’
The passenger nervously laughed at the information before replying: ‘Yeah. I still have other issues right now so I wanted to go to the hospital.’
Passengers arriving at Stansted on the flight from Eindhoven criticised the measures yesterday.
Ali Gurlek, 30, a software developer from London, said the measures ‘lacked common sense’ because he was about to travel home on public transport – as allowed under the rules.
At the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras, Sylvain Preumont, 50, a business manager who makes a weekly round-trip from Paris, said as a frequent traveller he was exempt but that he was no fan of the policy.
‘It makes no sense,’ he said. ‘This was invented to reassure people… to please them, and then we realise that it is not feasible.’
At Heathrow yesterday, Jane Mason, 49, who had arrived on a British Airways flight from Washington, said: ‘I could have been lying the whole time and to be honest, nobody is really checking.
‘I completed the online form before I left and when I arrived at Heathrow the immigration official asked me to repeat the address where I said I would be quarantining. After that he just let me pass and didn’t check at all if what I had put down is true.’
Ms Mason, a writer, revealed that she would be staying in quarantine in a private residence in central London rented for her by her publisher.
She said that she was travelling to it via pubic transport, which the Government has strongly advised against ‘unless there is no other option.’
She said: ‘No other option is the ‘get out of jail card. Nobody has arranged to pick me up so I’m going to get on the Heathrow Express. I probably shouldn’t be doing that, but I have no other choice.
‘This quarantine system is going to be difficult to enforce. Are they really going to carry out spot checks to make sure people are in quarantine? Have they got the time and the personnel for that?’
Before boarding the train, Ms Mason revealed that she was only going to be in the UK for three weeks, two of which will be spent in quarantine.
One traveller who arrived from Washington, wearing a black baseball hat and mask, headed straight to Heathrow’s underground station insisting that he was going to work.
When informed that he is meant to quarantine, he fumed: ‘If Boris wants us to stay off public transport then he should arrange taxis for us all. I’ve got to get to work and don’t want to say anything else.’
Passengers arrive at Heathrow Airport yesterday as the new quarantine rules are brought in
People wearing face masks who landed at Heathrow board an Underground train yesterday
Fiona Gathright, 59 who also arrived from Washington said: ‘It’s not going to be easy to enforce this quarantine system.
British travellers could receive Covid-19 ‘immunity passports’ to fly around the world
British travellers could receive Covid-19 ‘immunity passports’ to fly around the world without having to go into quarantine.
Home Secretary Priti Patel told MPs the idea was being looked at the end the 14-day isolation period.
Similar documents are already held by those who have had a Yellow Fever vaccine.
A Whitehall source told The Sun: ‘Immunity passports are just one of the policies we are looking at.’
Scientists are still working to provide a definitive answer as to whether recovering from Covid-19 makes you immune to catching it again.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has previously said that the Government was weighing up the introduction of immunity certificates in the UK.
‘It relies on people to be honest and it is easy to lie, both on the online form and when you arrive because there are no thorough checks being carried out if you’ve told the truth.’
Ms Gathright revealed that she will be quarantining in a flat in Bristol that she owns and will be staying in the UK for two months. She arranged to travel there in a taxi.
She added: ‘I’ll be in my flat and I promise you, I will quarantine. But I really don’t think anybody is going to turn up to check.’
Britney Medina, 27, a doctor, who arrived from Los Angeles for a six-week stay in Britain to visit friends and family said: ‘I think the quarantine system is not necessary and not enforceable.
‘The UK authorities are relying on people to be honest. It’s a moral question if you are going to tell the truth and stick to quarantining for two weeks. I’m not sure if most people will do it.’
Ms Medina, who is staying in rented accommodation in central London added: ‘The immigration officer just asked me to repeat the details that I had put down on my online form. They need to do more checks before letting people into the country.’
It comes as serious cracks appeared in the quarantine measures on their first day of operation yesterday.
Seats marked to help with social distancing at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 yesterday
Britney Medina (left) and Jane Mason (right) were both passengers arriving at Heathrow yesterday. Ms Mason, 49, who had arrived on a British Airways flight from Washington, said: ‘I could have been lying the whole time and to be honest, nobody is really checking’
All arrivals to the UK – including Britons – must now fill in an online ‘contact locator’ form setting out where they will live for a fortnight. Refusal to do so risks a £1,000 fine.
Government is ‘set to DROP 14-day quarantine policy by June 29’ in favour of ‘air bridges’ to low-risk countries
The UK Government is expected to drop its 14-day quarantine policy by the end of the month in favour of ‘air bridges’ to low-risk countries, it was claimed today.
Travel company bosses in Britain say they have been assured that the plans will be altered within weeks, with two legal challenges already filed against Ministers.
The Foreign Office is also thought to be close to dropping its advice against all non-essential travel around the world for Britons – and could do so by the end of June.
But Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has labelled it ‘worse than useless’ amid claims police will take ‘no immediate action’ even if a passenger gives a false address.
One legal challenge has already been launched by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair in a joint action which plans to ask the High Court for a judicial review.
A second has also been put forward in a pre-action letter by lawyers on behalf of Simon Dolan, owner of Southend-based charter airline Jota Aviation.
His team have written to Home Secretary Priti Patel and pointed out that even the Government’s own scientific experts had not supported the quarantine plans.
And a third challenge is now being considered by the new group Quash Quarantine which represents more than 500 hotels, travel and hospitality firms.
But last night it emerged police will take ‘no immediate action’ even if a passenger has been found to have given a false address.
One border source said: ‘It’s been a complete farce. The vast majority of passengers have not filled in forms in advance.
‘Those who have filled it in are given an online reference number, but immigration officers can’t log in to check whether that form has been filled in properly.’
The source added: ‘It’s been impossible to socially distance in the Heathrow arrivals halls because so many people have been milling around.
‘There’s been trouble at Heathrow and at Calais and Coquelles, where the UK border checks take place for the Channel Tunnel. It’s a mess.’
The scheme was further undermined last night as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) issued guidance which revealed the light touch forces will adopt when checking up on travellers during quarantine.
Even if a false address appears to have been given, police should take ‘no immediate further action’, the guidelines say, and the case simply referred to the UK Border Force.
If police visit an address where someone is supposed to be self-isolating and there is no answer, the NPCC says further visits are ‘suggested’ but there should again be ‘no immediate further action by police’.
That case should be referred to Public Health England.
And if police discover someone at a different address to the one they gave on their form, they should only remove the person to their given address ‘as a last resort’.
An NPCC spokesman said most of the responsibility fell to Public Health England, adding: ‘Police have a limited role in quarantine regulations.’
In the event of a case being referred by PHE to the police for action, he added: ‘We will seek to establish the circumstances and we will continue our approach of engaging, explaining, encouraging and, only as a last resort, enforcing.’
Passengers arrive at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport in London yesterday, as new quarantine measures for international arrivals begin
Holidaymakers can now get Welcome Cottages and Hoseasons refund
Thousands of holidaymakers can now get a refund on Welcome Cottages and Hoseasons that were cancelled due to Covid after a watchdog probe in parent firm VacationRentals.com.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Vacation Rentals had changed its policy after originally refusing to give money back to customers whose stays had been cancelled.
Vacation Rentals – which runs a raft of brands such as Welcome Cottages and Blue Chip Holidays – has now been forced to make a formal commitment to the CMA that it will give customers affected by lockdown the option of a full refund.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said measures were needed at the border but quarantine was a ‘blunt instrument’.
‘We have got the situation where – weeks ago – other countries put quarantine in and we didn’t,’ he told LBC Radio.
‘Now as everybody’s lifting it we’re putting it in. I would much prefer to see some sort of testing regime at the airport.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘The most efficient way to get through the border is to fill out the form before travelling here.
‘There are also devices at ports for passengers to fill in the form on arrival, to make sure that people who may not be aware are still able to comply.’
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have sent a pre-action letter, the first step in an application for judicial review, which argues the restrictions are disproportionate.
** Are you stuck or have witnessed quarantine chaos? And do you know the Swiss traveller who said he was ill? Email [email protected] **
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