Airlines respond to red list country changes

December 14th, 2021

Commenting on the announcement that all 11 countries will be removed from the red list tomorrow at 4am, Tim Alderslade, CEO of Airlines UK, the industry body representing UK-registered carriers, said:

“Removing these countries from the red list makes complete sense but doesn’t go nearly far enough. If the red list isn’t necessary given that omicron is established here at home, then neither are the costly emergency testing and isolation measures imposed on even fully vaccinated travellers, which again put us completely at odds with the rest of Europe. It is testing that is the deterrent to travel, not the relatively limited red list. 

 “Government has admitted that the measures introduced are disastrous for the travel sector, and the science says they aren’t now required. The Health Secretary says he wants to act quickly to remove unnecessary restrictions, and we implore him to make good on this by scrapping testing as soon as possible, otherwise the key Christmas and New Year booking period will be undermined. This is make or break for UK aviation and if Government is unable to row back from these restrictions over the New Year, it will need to step in with further economic support for a sector that again has been singled out”.