With the thought of Solomon Islands very much in mind when I glanced through the UK’s Daily Telegraph today, I came across some fresh travel information which I will share with readers because, in my view, it does raise the possibility in the near future for air travel under what I previously wrote about, a traffic light system.
Whether such a system will eventuate in the Pacific Region will remain to be seen, but already “bubble” air travel arrangements are in place between New Zealand and Australia and the Cook Islands are expecting a Covid-free travel scheme to New Zealand.
Also today, several hundred seasonal workers have left for Australia for jobs in the agricultural sector, given that Somoa is reported Covid-19 free.
Here’s the information I read in the Daily Telegraph.
Vaccinated Britons should be allowed to travel abroad without any restrictions under a traffic light system for summer holiday flights, the UK’s biggest airlines have told the Government.
In their submission to Boris Johnson’s Global Travel Taskforce, Airlines UK are recommending only travellers returning from the highest risk “red tier” countries should be subject to quarantine.
They say “green tier” countries should have no restrictions which would enable anyone who had been vaccinated to travel without quarantine or tests.
“A general principle, subject to the need to address specific risks, should be that vaccinated passengers should not be subject to travel restrictions and only high-risk countries would continue to be subject to robust measures,” said the airlines including BA, Virgin, Easyjet and Ryanair.
A middle-ranking amber tier would see travellers undergoing lateral flow tests either on arrival or pre-departure but no quarantine.
A separate report by Airlines UK warned that the loss of another summer of international travel would cost £55.7 billion in lost trade and £3 billion in tourism GDP if reopening delayed until September – putting more than half a million jobs at risk. Being unable to re-open to the EU would cause the most damage, followed by the United States, with no air link to the US until September costing the UK £2.4 billion (£23m per day) putting 51,600 jobs at risk.
Airlines UK said the vaccine rollout in the UK and abroad, increasing testing capability and new health certification technology could allow international travel to resume in summer 2021 and avoid costing the UK £47.6 billion in GDP this year (over £200m a day).
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: "For many of us, aviation is associated with a holiday or much needed break. However, this new report demonstrates just how vital the UK’s air links are to our economic prosperity, be it for British exporters, the hospitality sector or companies with an international footprint.
“The data refutes the claim that keeping aviation shut down, or delaying restart beyond the summer is a price worth paying – with each day planes are grounded costing tens of millions of pounds and putting thousands of jobs at risk. The priority now is clear; ensuring a durable framework for a risk-based approach to reopening air travel from 17 May”
End of quote.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
