Boris Johnson must drops plans to quarantine visitors to the UK to avoid a ‘catastrophic’ hammer blow to the tourism and hospitality industries that could lead to tens of thousands of job loses, leading industry bosses warned today.
Some 124 chief executive and owners of businesses worth a combined £5billion said they expect to make up to 60 per cent of their staff redundant unless the controversial plan for 14-day isolation for all arrivals are scrapped.
It came as Boris Johnson came under increasing pressure to find a way of defusing the row amid warnings that the edict on self-isolation will ‘kill’ the travel industry.
He is believed to be backing air bridges to low-infection countries as the government scrambles to head off a huge Tory revolt.
Downing Street today confirmed that the new quarantine rules expected to be announced today had been pushed back to Wednesday, fuelling suggestions that some sort of compromise could be on the cards.
MPs have also branded the curbs ‘ridiculous’ and ‘pointless’ after it emerged people will be allowed to pop out for food, only a fifth face spot checks, and officials will not be allowed to enter their homes.
The new quarantine rules – expected to be set out on Wednesday – will allow people subject to the 14-day restrictions to leave their place of isolation for a number of reasons, including shopping for food.
Travellers will also be able to board public transport from the port or airport to where they will quarantine, although they will be encouraged to use private vehicles instead.
But the rules will only be in place for an initial three weeks, with the first review on June 29.
More than 300 firms have now backed a letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel accusing the Government of trying to ‘exceed its mandate’.
Campaigner George Morgan-Grenville, the chief executive of tour operator Red Savannah, said: ‘By pursuing its quarantine plans without due regard for the economic consequences, the Government is choosing to ignore the devastation it will cause to companies, to employment and to the lives of all those whose jobs will be lost.
‘The quarantine measures are a blunt weapon which will bring only economic disaster.’
Just 23 people used Gatwick Airport in an entire day last week – down from its pre-covid average of 45,000
The detail of the proposals is expected to be laid in Parliament by Home Secretary Priti Patel later, although there might well not be a vote.
The rules are due to take effect on Monday, but a there are growing signs the measures will be scaled back again when they are reviewed in three weeks.
The air bridges plan, championed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, could see restrictions eased on countries like Australia and Greece with low levels of coronavirus. It offers some hopes of summer holidays for Britons as the nation struggles to get back to normal after months of lockdown.
Ministers are expected to use a five-point assessment to judge which countries could be prioritised for the agreements.
The criteria could include the economic and cultural ties to the UK, the infection rate and the level of health screening at departure airports.
A country’s R rate of infection is likely to be the key factor in whether an air bridge agreement is considered.
The news comes as MPs urged the government to rethink the 14-day quarantine to avoid killing off the airline industry.
Tory MP Henry Smith, whose Crawley constituency covers Gatwick, said low passengers at the airport last week highlighted the scale of the problem.
He said: ‘It’s well-intentioned but it hasn’t been thought through.
‘It sounds good, to stop people at the borders so we don’t get re-infections of Covid-19. But I don’t think it is going to be a benefit to public health and will prolong the economic damage.’
Travel industry experts say quarantine,will cost Britain’s tourism sector as much as £15billion if it is maintained throughout the summer.
Under the plans, people arriving in the UK from Britain, including citizens returning from abroad, will have to self-isolate for two weeks.
There are exemptions for groups including lorry drivers, health workers and scientists.
Spot checks will be carried out on addresses and fines of £1,000 could be imposed on people breaking the rules.
But according to the Guardian, only a fifth of arrivals will be subject to spot checks.
People will be able to give more than one address where they will be self-isolating – and will also be allowed to go out to buy food – including for pets – or medicine.
‘To get caught, you will either have to be unlucky or stupid,’ one source said.
Like the wider lockdown measures, the plans will be reviewed every three weeks.
Former transport minister Stephen Hammond asked what the point of the quarantine was when it could be dodged relatively easily.
The Tory MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that air bridges would be a ‘sensible, targeted response’ between low-risk countries.
‘I think the idea of air bridges are the right way forward,’ he added.
‘I think, as we’ve seen across the world, people are taking measures out of the lockdown and this targeted approach would be a much more sensible way to behave.’
The air bridges idea was first floated by Mr Shapps last month, before being played down by No10 sources.
However, sources told the Telegraph that Mr Johnson is now ‘personally in favour’ of the plan.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, is thought to remain sceptical.
Travel companies are offering up to 65 per cent off summer holidays – but tourism experts are warning Britons the trips may not end up going ahead.
The bargain packages are being advertised on booking sites for as early as July in a bid to salvage the season.
It came as last night the holiday dreams of millions of Britons were given a boost after Portugal and Greece said they were ready to welcome back UK tourists within days.
Tui, Britain’s biggest tour operator, is cutting three nights all-inclusive at the TUI SUNEO Odessos in Bulgaria on July 10 from £543 per person to £296. And a seven-night trip to Gran Canaria on July 6 has been slashed from £606 to £394.
Travel Zoo is offering two nights in Paris in September for £79 – up to 64 per cent cheaper than usual.
And easyJet Holidays is selling a week-long stay at Anseli Hotel in Rhodes from July 8 for £195 with flights and transfers.
But experts have warned desperate Britons to hold off booking for now.
The Foreign Office still advises against all but essential travel and there will be a two-week quarantine for returning holidaymakers from June 8.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘If consumers are keen to book something now they should go into it with their eyes open.
‘If the FCO advice is still in place when their holiday is due to take place, they will get a refund, but there’s a good chance they will be waiting a long time.
‘Holiday providers need to make it clear to their customers that these holidays may not take place.’
The UK quarantine will be reviewed every three weeks. TUI spokesman Liz Edwards said they hope it will be lifted on June 29 in time for summer trips.
She added: ‘We believe we will be having summer holidays this year, hopefully from July. We hope the quarantine will be lifted, but air bridges are certainly a possibility.
‘Bookings have been really picking up. Spain, Greece, Cyprus are likely to open up first. The Canaries and Balearics are keen to welcome back tourists.’
Airlines are also heavily discounting flights. A Heathrow to Cancun return with Air France in September, which usually sells for around £800, is being advertised for £312.
And return flights from Manchester to Reykjavik with easyJet in November are being sold for £41 (usually £150 plus), and Manchester to Dubrovnik with Jet2 from £30 one-way in late June (usually around £120).
Emma Coulthurst, from TravelSupermarket, said: ‘The 14-day quarantine measure makes holidays pretty impractical, although I have heard of some people willing to do it to get a holiday. There is a risk booking now as there is no guarantee the holiday will go ahead.’
Research by TUI revealed the most popular destinations for trips this year are Spain, Greece and Italy followed by Florida and the Caribbean.
And those hoping to go to Greece or Portugal this summer could still get the chance.
Officials in Lisbon believe Britain has coronavirus ‘under control’ and want quarantine-free travel between the two countries to restart from this Saturday.
Greece’s tourism minister Harry Theocharis told the Mail the epidemic was moving ‘in the right direction’ in the UK and restrictions could be dropped for Britons from June 15.
The interventions increased pressure on Downing Street to re-think its plan for a ‘blanket’ 14-day quarantine amid a growing backlash from MPs at being denied a vote on the measures.
Ms Patel will today introduce the regulations in Parliament to come into effect from next Monday.
But they will be brought as a statutory instrument, which does not automatically go to a vote. Tory MPs are expecting the government to give a strong signal on air bridges to head off an outright rebellion.
Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) will today introduce the regulations in Parliament to come into effect from next Monday
Under the plans, anyone entering the country by plane, train or boat will have to go into quarantine for two weeks.
This will apply to foreign tourists as well as Britons returning from abroad.
However, some people, including medical professionals and lorry drivers, will be exempt.
MPs among a cross-party group of at least 40 who are critical of the plans last night voiced their fury.
They want the Government to leave open the option of creating ‘air bridges’ – which would allow tourists between two countries to visit without needing to quarantine – to salvage as much of the summer holiday season as possible and help keep the hard-hit tourism industry afloat.
They say, instead of quarantine, arrivals to the UK could be subject to health checks or testing.
Industry chiefs say millions of Britons are desperate for a foreign getaway, but the blanket quarantine policy has all but cancelled summer holidays.
Former Cabinet minister David Davis said: ‘Parliament should be properly involved and quite plainly it is not. In this particular case, its very blanket policy could reasonably be amended in a number of ways.
‘For example, our death rate is many, many times than that in Greece. So the idea of quarantining someone coming from Greece who would have a much lower risk of suffering from the disease than someone anywhere else in Britain is plainly not supported by any sort of science.
‘The idea of putting in air bridges might be a sensible amendment.’
Former environment secretary Theresa Villiers said: ‘I would very much prefer the quarantine rules be targeted on flights from Covid hotspots.
‘I appreciate why the Government is bringing in quarantine but I do think that applying it in a blanket way across the board is an over-reaction.’
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, said: ‘I hope the Government will move swiftly to introduce air bridges and also to introduce a testing regime at airports as quickly as possible.’
Downing Street last night insisted it still intended to push ahead with the policy.
It has stressed quarantine will be reviewed every three weeks and has left open the possibility of striking air bridge deals in future.
But the first review period would not be until June 29.