Managing director of Ayrshire travel agency says no to air bridges
The managing director of Thorne Travel in Ayrshire, which has been voted Scotland's Top Travel Agency in the Travel Trade Gazette Awards 2020, says she doesn't think air bridges between the UK and other countries are the answer.
Air bridges have been proposed as a way of ensuring more travellers can be excluded from the incoming 14-day quarantine.
They would allow passengers to travel on routes between countries deemed as low-risk of spreading COVID-19.
Shona Thorne, from the Kilwinning based agency, said: "The basis of it is we speak to other countries and say would you accept us, if you accept us - we'll accept you and people can move between them.
"I don't personally think that's the proper way to go round about it - I don't think the 14-day quarantine is either.
"I think we need to look at something that's a bit more straight forward."
Shona said there are other solutions to the problem which don't involve forming air bridges.
She said: "We do have the facility just now to test someone for COVID-19, and have the results within two hours, so there's no reason for us as a travel agency and as a country to say why don't we do that before get on a plane?
"Then you know before you go on the plane that you don't have anybody on there that's got COVID-19.
"Hold off a bit longer and do more testing - and then we'll be good to go. Which I know seems strange from somebody who's in the travel industry and wants to open up.
"But there is no point in me saying that and having people out there if it's not safe, that's not what we're about."
Shona also spoke on how it's been to work in the travel industry during the current coronavirus pandemic.
She said: "It's extremely challenging - you have very mixed emotions.
"You have customers who clearly want to travel, you have other customers who do not want to travel at all but want to plan for next year.
"Until we have some really clear guidelines, we can't make judgement calls.
"What we have done is we have deliberately not tried to book anybody until the tail end of this year so we've looked at December onwards."
AIR BRIDGE Q&A
– What is an air bridge?
Air bridges would involve passengers travelling between the UK and specific destinations not needing to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in the UK.
– What routes could be considered?
They would be implemented on routes between countries deemed at low-risk of spreading coronavirus.
Visit Britain chief executive Patricia Yates has said the tourism industry would benefit from air bridges with countries such as the US, France, Germany and Italy.
– How quickly could they be introduced?
Quarantine rules will be reviewed every three weeks, meaning air bridges could be installed by the end of June.
– Why has this been proposed?
There is concern that people will not take overseas holidays, and foreign tourists will not visit the UK, if they have to go into quarantine for 14 days.
– Who is in favour of air bridges?
Support for air bridges has been given by hundreds of UK travel and tourism businesses, a number of senior Conservative MPs and Portugal’s foreign minister.
– What about Boris Johnson?
Reports suggest the Prime Minister is in favour of air bridges.
His official spokesman said on Tuesday that the Government is still looking at the suggestion.
– What has the Transport Secretary said?
Grant Shapps said the Government is working with the transport industry “to see how we can introduce agreements with other countries when safe to do so, so we can go abroad and tourists can come here”.
– What do scientists think?
Professor Keith Neal of the University of Nottingham said people from the UK who visit countries with less disease and maintain social distancing will be at a lower risk of being infected.
“On a Portuguese beach you are less at risk than a UK beach,” he explained.
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