Why are flights still coming into the country?

[Ledkr]

Pil were stuck in NZ and flew home monday. They swanned through with no temperature checks or anything and said the airport was as busy as ever with arrivals. They can't all be repatriation flights surely?
I don't get this at all. Is this happening in other countries?

It seems to have worked in Australia and NZ, though of course there are many other variables there.

Manchester Airport has one runway open and looks like only a handful of flights are arriving.

Heathrow was very quiet. We were surprised that there were no checks on us. A relative landing in Australia has been quarantined for two weeks.

OK wrong choice of words there sorry. I juts meant that there were still lots of people getting off flights and theirs was pretty full too.
Frankly as NZ seems to be doing vastly better than us I'd have stayed there if I could.

Relatives still have to go home into lockdown so why does is matter if they were tested or not.

It matters because they will probably interact with other people

In lockdown they can go shopping

They may actually go home to a household containing other people

And that's why Singapore have seen a recent rise in cases and are now moving to full quarentine for new arrivals

Someone I knew flew in from Thailand last weekend, not a check, nothing, straight through passport control which was busy, business as usual. He said the airport itself - Heathrow was a quieter than usual but not massively so to the point where he thought the whole lockdown thing had been over egged by the media and was surprised to find everything closed and the streets empty once he got into central London. I believe that many hundreds of passport holders have been repatriated from India this week too but happy to be corrected on that.

As midgebabe says because they can still go out: shopping, collect prescriptions, post office etc.
My dh went back to China last week and would be the only person in our house, but the procedure was still 14 days in a quarantine facility, twice daily temp checks, one test on arrival and one test after 14 days. He was given a hazmat suit, gloves, shoe covers and protective face shield (already wearing a mask) on arrival and then taken by bus to the quarantine facility.

He said the airport itself - Heathrow was a quieter than usual but not massively

Heathrow have gone down to single runway operations, a huge decline in air traffic.

They have also closed 2 of their 4 terminals, so while it may look as buy as ever, it really isn't.

The virus has spread throughout the U.K. and people coming in have as much chance of catching as they do spreading it now.

Well, since it has spread throughout the UK I might as well pack my bags and head to the Lake District for the weekend... only I won’t be doing that for obvious reasons.

Passenger flights.

One rep in Egypt said she was really worried about a plane load of UK passengers flying back to the UK. How they could be infected and how nobody was checking.

It beggars belief that anybody went on holiday knowing the risks and then their return is funded by the tax payer and puts the pilots and crew at risk.

Well, since it has spread throughout the UK I might as well pack my bags and head to the Lake District for the weekend... only I won’t be doing that for obvious reasons.

That's not even remotely close to what I said, and further away still from what I think.

Whoever said Gatwick is closed, it isn't.

This question was on yesterdays briefing and the answer was that scientifically it makes no difference , we hwve the virus

There are a lot less flights but those that are happening now are repatriation flights and freight.

Also some passenger flights do carry freight in sections of the cabin as well. A relative of mine flew from Hong Kong to Schiphol a few years ago and part of the passenger section had been converted for freight. It was a Boeing 747

That's not even remotely close to what I said, and further away still from what I think.

Then why do you think it’s ok for people to fly in from other countries, potentially infecting other passengers on the plane, flight attendants, airport staff and public transport workers, when the rest of us are on lockdown? Talk about double standards.

There are a lot less flights but those that are happening now are repatriation flights and freight.

No, the Heathrow arrivals are regular scheduled flights.

There might be some repatriating passengers, but the flights are scheduled.

Then why do you think it’s ok for people to fly in from other countries, potentially infecting other passengers on the plane, flight attendants, airport staff and public transport workers, when the rest of us are on lockdown? Talk about double standards.

I didn't say it was ok.

@Dongdingdong

I think you have misread my posts in your haste to have a rant. My personal feelings don't come into it. I gave the reason, the answer the the 'why' question, which nomore mentions was also on the TV. We already have the virus. It's too late to stop it coming in.

That's nothing to do with how I feel or what I think people should be doing, it was a very simple and factual answer to a question.

Repatriation flights

Freight

We are late in repatriation as we don't have a national airline (look at the list of most countries who got theirs done quickly)

It might make sense not to check arrivals. They've been somewhere for the last 3 weeks. They just spent a few hours in a sealed box, together. They'll self isolate when they get home, like the rest if us! All the lockdown advice will include them. Same protection from and for their
neighbours.

That's nothing to do with how I feel or what I think people should be doing, it was a very simple and factual answer to a question.

This is what you said earlier:

I think it's too late to worry about someone getting off a flight. The virus has spread throughout the U.K. and people coming in have as much chance of catching as they do spreading it now. Stopping people coming in from other countries would only have worked in the very early days as a preventative.

Prefacing a post with “I think” sounds very much like an opinion to me.

Yes I think it's too late to worry. The rest of the post explains why. Factually. Honestly I don't know what your problem is. I don't agree with any of it, but that's how things stand. So yes it is too late to worry about it.

So yes it is too late to worry about it.

But as I said, how is it “too late to worry about it” when every time a flight takes off, passengers are potentially infecting other passengers on the plane, flight attendants, airport staff and public transport workers?

It is too late to worry about it being brought into the country.

It is too late to worry about it being brought into the country.

Nope - because if anyone infected is bringing it into the country they are potentially infecting multiple other people, so it’s not too late at all to “worry about it being brought into the country”.