Air Bridges Scrapped!

[pigeon999]

The Air Bridge idea is in tatters and has finally been consigned to the dustbin. The UK very shortly will have a long list of 75 countries we will soon be able to visit coded by a traffic light system, with no quarantine needed whatsoever.

The system is designed to use the countries data on their infection rate (one would ask why they would feel the need to honest, if they rely heavily on tourism) and whether that data can be 'relied' on, and according the British Government that is practically everyone!

Only a handful of countries are on the red list. So we will be unable to travel there for the moment. US, Brazil and a few others.

It would be good to know the true thoughts of SAGE about this decision, which goes far beyond the original plan.

Now we can abandon social distancing on aircrafts and terminal airport buses and all the rest, does it now make social distancing anywhere completely pointless? If we are going back to pre lockdown numbers of arrivals and travellers what is the point?

Have we now given up on the idea of keeping control of infection? Track and trace is not working properly, so how we will manage future outbreaks?

What are you thoughts, are you booking a holiday today?

I am more worried about the reopening of pubs and other indoor spaces than air travel. As things stand we are much more likely to export covid than import it through international tourism.

@COVID19homeschooling
Think you might want to start your own thread.

I’m not bothered about quarantine upon return (WFH). As PP said it’s whether these countries let us enter.

I have a holiday booked to Budapest next week but as it stands I can’t gain entry. They are now welcoming tourism from every EEA country with the exception of the U.K. ☹️

If I was Greek and saw the scenes from Bournemouth and similar, there’s no way I’d want to be within breathing distance of any British visitors.*

Grr. I hope the Greek don't look at that and think we're all like that. I'm up in Yorkshire, have strictly followed the rules and only ever been to secluded fields and random stretches of river around here, not the popular beauty spots. Would have loved a day trip to Filey during the heatwave but I didn't. I have booked a week in Greece (small, family run apartments) for next June, just me and my young DC.

Don't even know if I want to book Filey for August to be honest (think it'll be rammed and litter all over), but my boys are desperate to go to the seaside :(

Hurrah! About time, too.

On the basis our the news reports here over the last month or so I wouldn't be surprised at most countries banning the lot of us from flying anywhere near them.
Any other country monitoring our news must think were all mad, cramming on beaches, and shitting in burger boxes, leaving tons of rubbish. Who wants that on their pristine tourist hotspots.
Even though most of us aren't like this, it doesn't paint us all in a good light.

Sigh. I have a UK holiday booked. In Scotland.

Me too opinionated. If Nicola won’t let us over the border I’m wondering if we might be able to change dates, at the moment it’s non-refundable (booked for the Edinburgh Fringe at crazy rates so we were happy to go anyway just for the break).

No sane country would allow english tourists in surely?

Be prepared to be amazed at how many countries are actively pleading for British tourists to come, every day on R4 some foreign minister from Turkey, Portugal, Spain etc trots out to say how their country is far better prepared than the other.

Anyone would think it is only the British rushing to the beaches, in fact it is happening all over Europe. It is natural to feel the release of a lockdown and head for the ocean, it is not however wise to squish onto a beach with so many others, hence the beach marshals in Spain. I am not sure our weather justifies permanent beach marshals for the three solid days of a heatwave we usually celebrate as something called summer

@MrsFezziwig I don't think you need to worry. Not by August anyway. The quote below is from today's Scotsman paper:
"She said there are “no plans” at the moment to introduce quarantine from people entering Scotland from the rest of the UK, but added the authorities must be alert to cases “coming into” the country and the measure could not be ruled out"

I have had four trips cancel since March, I am not going to risk booking somewhere in Scotland with Nicola's point scoring.
We had hoped to ride on the beach and stay on the west coast of Scotland and visit Dh's family, but I for one need some certainty, and someone threatening to 'close the borders' even if they existed is not very comforting or welcoming message!

But airlines are in a shambles and booked flights unreliable.

I'm amazed any European country would want Brits anywhere near them at the moment. We're the only European country that hasn't got a grip on Covid.

Most of the 75 countries are probably places very few British people visit, so probably more important to look at the ones excluded, especially in Europe.

I have a flight booked in September but no hotels, as it is a city break. I expect to go. Personally more concerned about pubs re-opening as some others are.

I cannot think of a government in Europe more incompetent at reacting to Covid 19.

Aye, saving lives by suppressing a lethal virus is 'points scoring'

She made it very clear in today’s briefing why she is taking the decisions she has, the point scoring doesn’t seem to be coming from Scotland imo

Quarantining people arriving in Scotland from England? Good luck with the survival of your tourism industry Nicola.

Sigh. Sturgeon is not threatening to quarantine anyone from England. She has just said she won't rule it out if the situation in England were to worsen. Which I think is the right approach. I am flying to Scotland next week from a country with a higher infection rate. Have made arrangements for my 2 weeks of quarantine for when I arrive. I don't see why, if infections were to go up in England, a similar rule should not apply.

It's funny how every time Johnson makes this kind of decision regarding lockdown and rules there appears to have been some breaking of the rules within his own ranks. First Cummings takes a jolly and the govt decide to ease lockdown 3 weeks earlier than the ideal according to SAGE members. Now we hear that old Stanley's pissed off to Greece to check on one's villa but, wait...that's okay because he travelled via Bulgaria... And now we scrap any sense of social distancing on flights/in airports and we are all free to go on a jolly?! Geez. These people are behaving like they're distracting toddlers from a tantrum "look over here, look what I have for you!" rather than dealing with a global pandemic. Basically anything to try and stop people from having a justified shit-fit over the blatant disregard for the rules displayed by Johnson's mob.

@Backbackandforth

I’m not bothered about quarantine upon return (WFH). As PP said it’s whether these countries let us enter.

I have a holiday booked to Budapest next week but as it stands I can’t gain entry. They are now welcoming tourism from every EEA country with the exception of the U.K. ☹️

Makes sense. Any EU country letting Brits in is asking for trouble. We're the only EU country who still haven't got the first wave under control and have the worst numbers every day.

All very well saying that we can travel to a list of 75 countries but that does not mean that those countries will permit visitors from the UK without quarantine or other restrictions. Greece is currently saying no flights until 15th July (unless you are the PMs Dad and sneak in via Bulgaria) but this could change or possibly be extended and other countries will have their own requirements.

As to the recession being bad for Indyref 2, the SNP will be able to point with perfect justification at the Tories’ complete balls-up of handling the lockdown/getting the pandemic under control and say ‘that’s what caused this recession - we could have unlocked much earlier if they’d been sensible and the economy wouldn’t have tanked so much.’

Scotland is completely reliant financially on the UK, if they were not - Scotland would already be independent. I don't care either way just for the record, but Scotland is taking a hell of a long time to open up given they have 'eradicated' the virus and so one can assume the economy is already seriously tanking. I don't know who you think pays for it all, but it is definitely isn't Nicola Sturgeon!!!!!!!!!

As usual the whole thing is a mess, we won’t know if when we arrive we will have to self isolate. Also will other countries actually want us to visit?

@pigeon999 that isn’t the point. You said the SNP would have their wings clipped by the recession, and I was just pointing out that given their platform is built on Scotland getting dragged along with whatever fuck-up England is enacting at the time no matter what Scotland votes for (voting in the Tories, Brexit, letting people go to pubs during a pandemic), the fact that the UK government have the worst record in Europe on tackling the pandemic and have caused our recession to be more severe as a result is actually a gift to the SNP campaign. I’m not saying our economy is doing better or worse in reality, but I’d imagine we’d do a lot better with a slow, steady approach to rebuilding it than veering in and out of lockdowns!