Cristina Hodgson
THE general director of the London Heathrow Airport, John Holland-Kaye, has proposed that COVID-19 tests be carried out instead of the 14-day quarantine.
It comes after the airport has suffered a 96% reduction in passenger numbers between March and June due to the closure of borders and a subsequent loss of €102 million.
A similar strategy was launched on Tuesday at Berlin airport in Germany, where authorities introduced voluntary diagnostic tests at the main airport terminal before making them mandatory from Monday.
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Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport and a cornerstone of the British economy. Last year it recorded just over 80 million passengers and nearly 500,000 air operations.
The international London hub was one of the first airports to take the temperature of its users when coronavirus stared to spread across Europe.
The testing proposal comes as Boris Johnson’s cabinet says there will be confinement measures for ‘the entire summer’.
Meanwhile, France says a worst-case scenario will lead to border closure.
“The UK needs a fast and comprehensive passenger testing regime,” Holland-Kaye said in a statement to the BBC.
“Without it, the UK will just be playing a game of quarantine roulette.”
The director believes that the testing system could be ready in two weeks.
There are currently 600,000 Britons enjoying their holidays in Spain, three times that number have already made their reservations for August.
