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A travel bubble between Australia and the UK could be on the horizon, according to the head of Qantas, with the Australian flag carrier still planning on being ready to fly long-haul at the end of 2021.
Alan Joyce, the Qantas Group chief executive, told Nine’s Today show: “A few months ago, I thought maybe Singapore, Taiwan and Japan would be first cabs off the list but with the great progress that’s been made in the US and the UK, you may see those markets opening up before the rest because the vaccine rollout has been so successful in both countries.”
He added that the Covid-19 vaccine is “our passport to get international travel going again” and said: “We’re still talking to the government about it, we’re still planning to be ready [to fly long-haul international] at the end of this calendar year.”
Low uptake of the jab in Australia has led to Qantas offering incentives, including flight vouchers, to those who get vaccinated. The airline has previously said only vaccinated passengers will be allowed to board their planes.
Earlier today an Australian court rejected a challenge to the federal government’s power that prevents most citizens from leaving the country. A draconian rule under the Biosecurity Act means people can only leave in “exceptional circumstances”.
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‘France’s travel ban is really just spiteful Macron’s latest Brexit punishment. He’ll regret it ‘
In case you missed this, Ross Clark gives his take on France’s decision to stop travellers from the UK entering France.
The stated reason is that France is concerned about the spread of the Indian variant in Britain. But then why have EU citizens been exempted from the travel ban?
If President Macron was really concerned about the Indian variant, and genuinely believed that it was confined to Britain rather than already spreading elsewhere in Europe, surely the last thing he would want was to admit to France, say, a Polish citizen who has been living in Bolton. Neither would he want Irish citizens travelling through Britain in order to reach France. They would be banned along with anyone who had spent time in Britain in recent weeks.
Even more to the point, if Macron is worried about variants and wants to prevent them spreading throughout France, you might think that his first priority would be to ensure that his own public health authorities were taking the trouble to sequence samples from confirmed cases of Covid-19. Without doing that, it is impossible to tell what variants are in circulation, and in what numbers.
France restricts travel from UK to combat Indian variant spread
Since yesterday, France has restricted travel from the UK requiring passengers to provide “compelling reasons” for entering the country to combat the spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19.
Those who are allowed to make the journey must take a pre-departure Covid test and quarantine for seven days on arrival. Travel to France from Britain will only be permitted for EU nationals, French residents, or those travelling for essential reasons.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the new French rules apply to all air, car, ferry and train passengers.
France is currently listed as an “amber” destination by the UK Government which advises against travel there, with British authorities requiring people to self-isolate for 10 days and take two Covid tests on return. Stricter rules for visitors from the UK were first raised by French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian last week amid concern over the Indian variant.
Heathow opens terminal for red-list passengers
A dedicated terminal for passengers arriving in the UK from countries on the travel ‘red list’ has opened at Heathrow Airport.
Terminal 3 will now be exclusively for these arrivals, with the airport saying that its main concern was protecting the public and helping reduce the risk of new variants.
There are 43 countries on the red list but direct flights are permitted from only a few of them, including India. There had been concern that travellers from high-risk destinations were mixing with other passengers in immigration halls, where they could potentially be waiting for several hours.
Only British and Irish nationals or UK residents are allowed to travel from countries on the list. Anyone who has been in a red list country in the previous 10 days, whether they took a direct flight or came via another country, is required to pay for quarantine in a hotel for 10 nights after their arrival.
A Heathrow Airport spokeswoman said:
Red list routes will likely be a feature of UK travel for the foreseeable future as countries vaccinate their populations at different rates. We’re adapting Heathrow to this longer-term reality by initially opening a dedicated arrivals facility.
The latest headlines
Good morning. Here’s a recap of the major travel stories over the last few days.
- France, Spain and Italy set to miss out on next green list
- Tui has issued a fresh wave of cancelled holidays due to restrictions
- Greece set to use vaccine passport before July
- US ‘looking closely’ at vaccine passports
- Ireland to reopen to British visitors in July
Now on with today’s news. Follow us here to stay up to date.