French citizens will not face immediate quarantine upon arrival in UK

As brought to you by UNN’s Oliver Down yesterday and announced last night, the UK is set to place all new air arrivals under a 14-day quarantine, at a yet unspecified date, in a bid to prevent the coronavirus spread. However, there has been a startling development, France will be exempted for the time being. 

The plans to impose quarantine on air travellers were officially unveiled by PM Boris Johnson last night as he announced the next steps to ease coronavirus restrictions. Mr Johnson said: “To prevent reinfection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time – with transmission significantly lower – to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air”. 

Mr Johnson offered no official timeframe for enforcing the proposed quarantine. Therefore it is still understood that this measure is not expected to take effect by the end of May or early June at the earliest. 

Shortly after the announcement, it is understood that the French President Emmanuel Macron and Johnson held a phone call, after which Johnson confirmed that the measure would not apply to French travellers. The reasoning being given for this special dispensation is that measures need to be taken in a reciprocal manner. 

The plans to impose quarantine on air passengers did not sit well with the aviation industry. Airlines UK have said “We will be asking for assurances that this decision has been led by the science and that government has a credible exit plan, with weekly reviews to ensure the restrictions are working and still required”. In addition to this, Karen Dee who is the chief executive of the Airport Operators Association has warned the move will “not only have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry, but also on the wider economy”.

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