Travel's 'quash quarantine' plea backed by more than 200 firms
James ChappleMore than 200 travel firms have backed a sector-wide plea to government to scrap its proposed quarantine on arrival measures and pursue "air bridges" instead.
Last week, a coalition of some 70 travel leaders, including the bosses of Abercrombie & Kent, Caribtours and Kuoni, wrote to home secretary Priti Patel urging her to rethink the country’s 14-day self-isolation requirement for UK arrivals, which is due to come into force on 8 June.
The letter, penned by Red Savannah chief executive George Morgan-Grenville, said the move would harm the travel sector’s hopes of a swift recovery, with few willing to book for the summer with the prospect of having to quarantine upon return.
Together, the signatories account for more than £5 billion sales across the UK’s travel and hospitality sectors, and their campaign has now been backed my some 217 firms. "The current plans are unworkable, poorly thought-out, and already damaging sales in the travel industry," they said on Monday (1 June).
Instead, the campaign is calling on government to pursue individual air bridges, bilateral agreements with countries with lower rates of coronavirus infection, to render quarantine ineffective.
The idea was first raised in the Commons by Huw Merriman, chair of the government’s transport committee, and backed by transport secretary Grant Shapps. Number 10 initially played down the suggestion, but is since understood to have warmed to the idea according to national press reports.
“This is not just a group of company bosses complaining, but employees from bottom to top calling for the quarantine plans to be quashed," said Morgan-Grenville. "The extent of their pain is deeply worrying for our economy and our country.”
The campaign is also calling for the Foreign Office to relax its current advice against all non-essential travel worldwide, which it says is putting people off booking holidays in the future.
Anyone wishing to endorse the campaign should email getgoing@redsavannah.com.
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