MPs urge Boris Johnson to replace quarantine with airport testing to get economy moving

A group of cross-party MPs have joined forces to write a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to to end quarantine and introduce airport testing to get business moving.

The letter has been organised by Henry Smith MP and the Future of Aviation Group. It has also been signed by former Aviation Minister Paul Maynard MP, Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady MP and the Westminster Leader of the DUP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP. 

The full text of the letter is below

Dear Prime Minister, 

We write following the re-introduction of quarantine measures for Spain to urge you to prioritise support for our aviation, travel and tourism industries who have been amongst the hardest hit by COVID-19 and for whom this news will further damage their fragile recovery. 

The announcement made at the weekend reflects the continuing public health challenge posed by COVID-19 and the need for the Government to remain vigilant about potential second waves and as such we do not dispute the need for measures to be reintroduced.  

However, this announcement does demonstrate that a blanket quarantine approach is not always appropriate and that the Government should consider moving towards regional travel corridors recognising that not all parts of a country may be similarly affected from a spike in infections, allowing quarantine-free travel from those places.  

In the case of Spain, this would allow quarantine-free travel from the Balearic and Canary Islands, which do not face the same epidemiological situation as parts of mainland Spain. These are two key markets for our travel, tourism and aviation industries with around 2.4 million passengers leaving the UK for these islands in August last year.   

Alongside this, we would urge you to look at introducing COVID testing at UK airports linked to passengers from ‘hotspots’ as a part of the Government’s approach to combating COVID-19.  This would mirror the measures announced by the German Government and the UK should not be left behind as other nations look to more nuanced responses that allow travel to continue and for the risks to be minimised. 

We are particularly worried that further quarantines and continuing weak passenger numbers will further exacerbate what is an already desperate situation, with associated job losses projected to reach six figures in the coming months.  Alongside this, the knock-on impacts of a beleaguered aviation, travel and tourism sector will be felt throughout our economy, with every job directly created in aviation supporting a further 24 jobs.  Therefore, given the further restrictions placed on these sectors, we would urge you to agree a longer-term package of measures to retain and support these jobs until passenger traffic returns to higher levels. 

It is of course right that the Government remains vigilant and has the flexibility to respond to the public health challenges as they occur. However, it is also right that this response considers the serious economic impact that these measures have on a sector that will be vital to our long-term economic recovery.  

We therefore urge you to reform the quarantine policy to allow for regional travel corridors, introduce airport testing linked to high risk nations and provide longer term employment support to the millions of employees working in the sector. 

Yours sincerely, 

Henry Smith MP

Conservative MP for Crawley

Sir Graham Brady MP

Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West

Sarah Champion MP

Labour MP for Rotherham

Rosie Cooper MP

Labour MP for West Lancashire

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP

DUP MP for Lagan Valley

Colum Eastwood MP

SDLP MP for Foyle

Stephen Farry MP

Alliance MP for North Down

Sir Roger Gale MP

Conservative MP for North Thanet

Mark Garnier MP

Conservative MP for Wyre Forest

Sir George Howarth MP

Labour MP for Knowsley

Jonathan Lord MP

Conservative MP for Woking

Seema Malhotra MP

Labour MP for Feltham and Heston

Paul Maynard MP

Conservative MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys

Jason McCartney MP

Conservative MP for Colne Valley

Catherine McKinnell MP

Labour MP for Newcastle North

Ian Paisley

DUP MP for North Antrim

Andrew Rosindell MP

Conservative MP for Romford 

Jim Shannon MP

DUP MP for Strangford

Virenda Sharma MP

Labour MP for Ealing Southall

Royston Smith MP

Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen

Graham Stringer MP

Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton

Sir Robert Syms MP

Conservative MP for Poole